The Predator's Lover
by Toulip Fontana
Summary: Taking place after Damon's killed Rose. Damon and Jeremy find each other just before Damon makes another kill. Afterward the two grow closer than either one had imagined possible. After their relationship blooms and thrives, there's a part of Damon's history that comes back into the present.
1. One

_Set after Damon kills Rose.  
An alternate version of his dramatic scene.  
Warning! Slash. I've got no affiliation with tVD._

**The Predator's Lover**

Jeremy had just walked away from easily one of the prettiest and most genuine girls he had ever met and his only reason for it was—well, he didn't even know why. He had always had a little crush on the beautiful witch and even recently started feeling something _more _than a crush. He started actually caring for Bonnie more so than he ever had and slowly but surely it felt as if Bonnie was reciprocating those feelings.

He should've been elated, right?

Well Jeremy always had a knack for chasing away what he wanted the most even when he didn't realize he was doing it. Only this time, he knew exactly what he was doing. He knew that he was pushing Bonnie away and he knew that all it would've taken was time and more than likely he would've gotten all that he wanted and would've been happy about it. Jeremy wasn't entirely sure when but sometime in the midst of everything he realized that him being with her _wasn't _what he wanted. He wanted something more—something that even though at the time he wasn't sure, he knew that whatever it was it wasn't what he would've had with Bonnie.

The moment would have been perfect. It could have been deliciously, remarkably and without a doubt perfection. All he had to do was lean down his head not even an inch and kiss her. Her face was already elevated, her eyes had already started closing slightly with her gaze directly at his lips; yet he didn't make the move. Instead he cleared his throat louder than necessary, started scratching the back of his neck and stepped back as if he were avoiding the plague or something.

Maybe it was her heavy perfume or maybe it was the fact that her upper body practically pressed against his in a manner that suddenly shut off whatever part of him that clung onto the idea of him and her being right together.

Whatever the reason, Jeremy just backed away, apologized to her almost sadly and left through the front door of his home. God he left her alone in his house! He pretty much abandoned someone he really actually cared for and scurried away from his own house in a way that a frightened deer runs away from its hunter. Only—Jeremy wasn't scared. He may have felt guilty and wrong for just being so close to her and walking away but he wasn't scared that he let go of something that more than likely he'd never be able to have after that. Instead of being scared of what Jeremy was walking away from he was terrified as to what he was walking _to._

It still was a mystery to him. He wasn't sure of what he wanted and he didn't know where he was going after he just took off the way he did but he didn't even care to take his car. He just – walked away. He walked out the door and down his steps with only his iPod turned on playing music and his phone in his pocket.

The night was cold and since he was only in his house with the fireplace running Jeremy wasn't wearing a coat. It wasn't like he could've made the decision to up and leave when he did yet run up to his room to grab a coat before so. So he just had to suck it up and hope that his aimless walking would somehow warm up his impulsive, non-thinking, freezing body.

The song he had blaring was one of his favorites by Metallica. Jeremy's mind was flooded with so many things that the only thing he knew about where he was walking at was near a road somewhere.

Finally the loud song had ended and in between the break from the next song Jeremy was able to hear voices and see headlights.

"_What's your name?"_

"_Jessica."_

"_Jessica—I have a secret. I have a big one and I've never said it out loud."_

Jeremy knew immediately who the male was but he was confused. He'd never heard Damon's voice that way. He'd never heard him speak the way he did to that girl. Among the whispers and the distance Jeremy could only hear so much.

"_I can't be what other people want me to be."_

Jeremy froze the minute he heard them talking knowing any movement he'd make Damon would be able to hear it. The vampire that always held a composure that was dangerous and full of mystery was letting whatever he had out to the world; out to the girl that for some reason wasn't moving. Wouldn't she at least be trying to run or even shaking?

"_Do I kill you? Do I not kill you?"_

"_Please don't."_

He could hear her sobs.

"_But I have to Jessica. Because I'm not human and I miss it. I miss it more than anything in the world. That is my secret. But there's only s-so much hurt a man can take."_

"_Please don't."_

She sobs again. The pleading and tragedy that Jeremy hears and sees from Damon's victim, he can't take it. This isn't Damon; the way he's acting, the truth he's spilling painfully and the tears that shine from the headlights. He may be sadistic and might be known for the torture he enjoys bringing to humans but this, this is torturing himself.

Before Damon compels the girl to move away,

"Stop, stop Damon. Pl-please—please stop. Don't hurt her, please." He calls out to him stepping into the beam of the headlights.

The vampire doesn't even seem startled. Maybe he knew all along Jeremy was there or maybe he didn't realize it. The boy walks to him obviously scared but determined.

"Damon, just let her go. —Please." Jeremy begs him.

Jeremy's unsure of what the vampire's going to do. If he lunges for Jeremy then so be it. All he knows is that he can't be a witness to a murder without having at least done _something _to stop it.

He sees Damon bring up his hands and grip the sides of the girl in front of him.

Past the tears Jeremy assumes that Damon compels her out of her paralysis.

"_You're free to go."_

In the split seconds of her freedom Jessica stands there, collects the biggest breath she's probably ever taken and runs toward her car.

Maybe it was the adrenaline coursing through Jeremy; maybe the shock of almost seeing a vampire murder an innocent human and practically running into a lion's den to save her but whatever the reason he finds himself almost gasping for air as he realizes that Damon let her go. The vampire stands there turning his head to watch her scramble for her car. Still without even a glance to the stupidly courageous human that risked his own safety for that of the girl speeding away terrified and trembling, Damon remains where he is.

The car drives away almost hysterically into the opposite direction, leaving Jeremy to face the world's most dangerous predator alone and scared. His ring hugging onto his finger is only good if he's wearing it; the state that he sees Damon in he might take it off within a blink of an eye and kill Jeremy for what he's done. Kill him just because he can.

Or even kill him because there's a chance that he knows what Damon confessed to the girl._

* * *

  
__Oh goodness, folks. A full on Damon and Jeremy story and I'm nervous as heck to see if anyone out there likes it or not._  
_Tell me — think it should keep it going?_


	2. Two

_Oh my gosh, this story has gotten a lot more notice than I thought it would. Thank you so much for the alerts, reviews, and favorites!_

**2**

By now the car is gone, sped out past visible distance; gone so far away that nothing or anyone would hear Jeremy scream for mercy at the hands of Damon. He wasn't sure if it was even going to come to that but with Damon anything was possible. His mind tried processing what exactly was happening but the only thing Jeremy could understand was that Damon Salvatore remained standing where he was and stupidly so did Jeremy. Now it was as if _he _were compelled not to move, like his body was set into a motionless state of being waiting for Damon to speak to him. Jeremy didn't know why but he didn't want to leave Damon there until the vampire at least said or did _something. _Which was probably the dumbest thing Jeremy could want to wait for.

The human's breathing started to regulate better but it still took on a pace fast and uneasy. His heart beat may have slowed down some but still thumped erratically.

Damon could hear it all. He could smell and hear Jeremy's body from where he was standing and honestly didn't know why Jeremy was still standing there if he was as afraid as his body made him seem. The vampire clenched his jaw and swallowed roughly before lifting his head to look at the unmoving human who still stood on the side of the road just staring at him.

Just before Damon started to say something a phone rang from Jeremy's pocket.

At first Jeremy ignored it still trying to control his breathing. His hands were shaking so badly and his voice would've probably been too weak to speak into the phone anyway.

Just before the phone could stop ringing,

"Are you gonna get that?" The vampire asked tentatively.

Any other time Damon would've smirked at the fact that all it took was a simple reference to a phone that caused Jeremy to gulp nervously so hard that it had to have been painful for his throat.

Quickly and almost desperately Jeremy fished through his deep pockets to collect the ringing phone. Still not moving his eyes from Damon's figure Jeremy answered the phone before even seeing who it was and spoke to the person on the other end.

"Yeah, I'm—I'm fine. I just went for a walk.—  
I know. I'll um; I'll apologize to her the next time I see her, ...I know, —  
all right, o-okay, bye."

Jeremy canceled the phone call still without looking away. He gripped onto the phone almost painfully before dropping it back into his pocket. Slowly Jeremy let out a shaky breath to calm down what still made his heart seem to pound quickly.

"What are you still doing here?"

Damon gritted out through semi-closed teeth. Although his face was hard and his mouth shut tightly his eyes still took away any look of danger that Damon may have had. The vampire's face was covered in dry and somewhat wet tears from before.

Jeremy's eyes finally shifted away from Damon long enough to glance at the road before him and close them briefly, regretting not taking the chance sooner to leave. He knew he shouldn't be berating himself because even if he had of left earlier it didn't mean that he could ever out run Damon or even have a head start. No, if Damon wanted Jeremy staying put then there wouldn't have been anything the mere human could've done.

He breathed in and out carefully through his nose trying not to make his words come out as nervous as he was really feeling. "I don't—I mean, I…"

As fast as possible for the vampire he appeared in front of Jeremy before he could utter his next stuttered words.

"What?"

Unlike before Damon actually spoke softer than he had earlier letting his face ease away from the tightness it was holding. His frosty blue eyes observed Jeremy's face patiently. He could already tell that his presence was rattling the human even more now as he could hear the quickness of Jeremy's breathing again.

"You what?" The vampire asked again calmly.

Avoiding the question entirely Jeremy spits out nervously,

"Are you okay?"

This only caused Damon to tense up again and laugh almost bitterly at the human.

"You're asking me if _I'm _okay? I'm a _vampire _Jeremy. We're never _okay. _We're just these _beings_ walking around tormenting the humans around us because that's what we truly envy. We envy what we can never have. The life that a human experiences: growing old, living, _feeling, and loving. _Having more than just _memories _of what it was like." Exasperatingly Damon starts again, "Don't ever let a vampire tell you otherwise because at one point or another they _will _come to _loath _what they really are even if they spend the rest of eternity pretending that they don't."

Damon says it all while keeping up the stare he has with Jeremy's widening eyes. The vampire tilts his head slightly with a miserable grin plastered on his face, "So go ahead Jeremy. Ask me again. Ask me if I'm _okay._"

Still the eye contact never breaks between the two males. One simply unable to tear his eyes away from the intoxicating vampire and the other just waiting to see the human's reactions to the unrehearsed truth that he's just let out to let the other hear.

"And you've felt this way? You've always felt this way?"

Jeremy unconsciously licks his lips after whispering his questions.

The sudden movement causes Damon's gaze to trail down to the human's mouth and his own jaw to clench tightly before he relaxes it again.

Damon finally brings his hand up to wipe away what's left of the tears from his eyes and scrubs harshly attempting to make whatever vulnerability he's feeling go away.

His attempts fail. There's no lying anymore. There's no denying that he didn't feel like dying all over again after having to plunge the stake through Rose's heart. Damon wanted to burn that bitch Jules alive for having been the cause of her death; him being the real reason the wolf attacked in the first place might've been mostly the cause for his meltdown. There wasn't a use for Damon lying to himself anymore; this was bound to come sooner or later.

"You still didn't answer my question. You're still standing there, why?"

Damon shifts his eyes from the pavement to back at Jeremy. His voice began to harden again.

"I don't know. What would be the point of running? You'd just catch me; compel me to forget what I saw, what I _heard. _The torturing wouldn't ever cease to exist."

The human had no idea of how true his last words were, but not for Jeremy; the torture that only Damon could implicate on himself seemed to be never ending.

Again Damon laughed at the words of the human except this time less bitterly and with the same sadness he had from earlier. If it were even possible Damon stepped even closer to Jeremy inhaling deeply through his nose before admitting,

"You were never who I wanted to hurt, Jeremy."

Silence occurs for a moment before Damon speaks again, "You don't have to worry about torture; at least not from me." And with that said Damon backed away slowly from the nervous human.

"You did the right thing, Damon." The young male called out before Damon left.

In response Damon turned back to face Jeremy with the same look the human saw from before: glassy eyes, brows furrowed together softly, and his bottom lip sucked lightly between his teeth.

Despite knowing what Damon was so closely able to do to the girl from before Jeremy pushed that thought aside long enough to examine Damon's face. He was broken. Jeremy could see it and if he were being at all truthful somewhere inside of him he felt bad for the vampire. Maybe it was the fact that Jeremy now knew Damon's big secret or simply the shock he experienced as he saw for the first time Damon Salvatore crying what seemed to be genuine, painful, and tragic tears.

In that moment Jeremy could see the tragedy in Damon. He wanted to help him. He wanted to understand why it was so hard for Damon to come out and admit that he wasn't truly as evil as he made himself out to be; to admit that it didn't always have to be reign of terror that followed Damon Salvatore.

Damon sighed heavily, "You were scared, Jeremy. You were terrified, so why'd you come out like that? Why'd you put yourself in that position? Hasn't the past taught you anything?" The vampire had asked although he already knew what Jeremy was going to say.

"Because you didn't look as you usually did, there was something different—it was like you—you didn't want to do it but felt like you had to." Jeremy paused to see if he had already gone too far before just continuing again, "It all seemed—just tragic."

To be honest Jeremy was mentally killing himself now. He just called a vampire tragic with no one around to even come close to helping Jeremy if he needed it. Had he just lost his mind? It was like Jeremy was just probing the bear with a stick now just to see how far the bear would go before,

_Snap. _Or even worse...

"I know what you said about being okay but—are you, – are you sure there's not gonna be another…" he wasn't sure of how to finish that without undoubtedly sealing his fate altogether just because he couldn't keep his damn mouth shut.

Damon picks up where Jeremy trailed off, "Another unfortunate human that gets in my line of sight?" The vampire asks incredulously with a humorless chuckle.

"No, Jeremy, — you stopped that from happening already." He replies, voice tight and exhausted.

"Is there a reason?" Jeremy asked cautiously.

It doesn't take Damon long to react to Jeremy's unclear and vague question with complete confusion. "A reason for what?" The vampire questioned him as he stepped closer to Jeremy curious to see where the human was so bravely going as he insanely tried having a conversation with a chaotic, unhinged _vampire._

"It's not hard to see that there was something different about you, Damon. Did—did something happen?" Jeremy knows that he's taking a chance with his questions for Damon. He knows that Damon's never the one to stand around and chat about his day especially to a human that he's had a record of killing so easily in the past.

Deciding that there wasn't a point anymore for maintaining the stupid façade or going around the truth after Jeremy saw him breakdown the way he did, Damon sighed in what almost felt like defeat and looked into Jeremy's eyes briefly.

"Come on, let's go to the boarding house. I'll um, – I'll tell you."

**2**

_Thoughts? I really hope you guys like the second chapter. _:)


	3. Three

_I'm not sure if he knew in the series but in this story, Jeremy knows nothing about Rose's death or her attack. I'm not even sure if he knows about Rose at all in this story…let's go with that. _:)  
_Again I am so thankful to everyone who reads, reviews, subscribes, or favorites this story. I really love that it's being enjoyed so far. Lots of love to you people!_

**3**

At the receiving end of Damon Salvatore's invitation to go back to his home, Jeremy Gilbert was perplexed to say the least. Did he really trust that it'd be safe? Should he walk willingly into the home of a vampire who most certainly isn't a stranger of lethal mood swings? His mind was boggled with all of these questions yet stupidly he could hear his mouth say yes, feel his head nod casually, a small smile to form on his lips to return the vampire's invitation, and his legs to walk near Damon and with him to his home. Yup. It was official; Jeremy had lost all his common sense and left them at his safe home with the safe yet _dissatisfying_ Bonnie Bennet.

The two left the side of the road where Jeremy found Damon and walked to the boarding house in what started off in silence but then the two—surprisingly and much to Jeremy's dismay—started talking _comfortably_. It actually didn't take much for the vampire to start talking to Jeremy. Damon didn't start telling Jeremy about what made him kind of go off the way he did until the two of them got to the boarding house but still, – it was easier for Jeremy to talk to Damon than he had expected.

Their conversation started casually enough,

"So what exactly are you doing out here anyway?" Damon asked although he heard earlier that Jeremy ditched Bonnie at his home with just an abrupt _sorry _to smooth it over.

Jeremy didn't realize he was doing it at first but when he did he stopped nibbling on his bottom lip long enough to answer the question. "I, um, just had to go for a walk. I actually didn't realize I had walked so far until I noticed headlights through the trees and my music stopped playing long enough for me to hear—um, –".

Damon could hear Jeremy's breathing pick up slightly and noticed that his voice started to falter so the vampire decided to fill in the blanks for him, "My killer confession to the scared out of her mind human?"

Jeremy exhaled softly, "I know that you said you'd tell me about it but really, if-if you don't want to, I'll understand. We can just—pretend I wasn't even there." After he finished Jeremy glanced over to Damon who just kept walking and looking straight ahead.

Finally Jeremy could see Damon lick his lips, which caused the humans eyes to stay at that direction longer than what might've been considered normal, and watched as the vampire started to move his lips as he talked.

"That won't be necessary. If you're curious to know what's happened recently then I'll explain it to you. Might as well anyways, you'll probably just see it in Elena's journal the next time she lays it around the house." Damon directed his eyes to Jeremy's face and smirked at him as he saw the corners of Jeremy's lips trying not to rise into a guilty smile.

"So Elena knows?" _Well, duh. _Jeremy couldn't help but tell himself that mentally.

"Your sister knows what I had to do and why but I don't think she would've expected its outcome that you got to see firsthand back there." It was obvious that Jeremy was about to see many emotions come from Damon's face as the vampire started to progress in what he was talking about with his voice starting to waiver between certain parts.

Before Damon got to talking specifically about Rose the two boys finally got to the boarding house and as Damon already knew, they saw that Stefan was nowhere to be seen as he was out with Elena for the night. On one hand Jeremy was mildly grateful for Stefan not being there but on the other Jeremy almost wished that Stefan _was_ there if in case Jeremy needed him. At that point it seemed like he didn't have much to worry about with Damon's temper tonight but still it would've been nice to have a safety net just if anything sent Damon to go off the deep end as Jeremy's seen him do before. He just had to remind himself that he and his non-filter-having mouth needed to think before saying anything that could very well be a big "no-no" to the vampire.

Damon opened the door freely and made a bee-line to the in-home bar that sat adjacently to the fire place that started to flicker with orange, red, and white flames as the vampire pressed the button on a small remote. "You don't ever lock your door?" Jeremy asked curiously only to see a slight cocky smirk form on Damon's lips. Immediately Jeremy could see that his question might as well have been irrelevant when referring to the unlocked door of the home of two vampires. Especially seeing that if any non-human being did want to ambush Damon or Stefan they most certainly wouldn't be stopped by a locked door.

"You see anything you want?"

Jeremy quickly felt a sudden heat to rise in his face at the vampire's question as Jeremy had been doing nothing other than staring only at Damon as he poured himself a drink. Awkwardly Jeremy adverted his eyes to anywhere _but _the dark hair, blue eyed bombshell that may or may not have just busted Jeremy for staring at him.

Soon the young Gilbert felt a little silly when he noticed Damon's slight confused look on his face as he held up a drink to him. "So—no on the booze?" Damon sighed in response. "Just as well, I think I heard somewhere that that's apparently illegal for you anyway." He scoffed amusingly.

After Jeremy recollected his mind that went a little hazy earlier he sat down onto the leather couch that had been furnished into the living room and stared at the active fireplace. It all did feel a little strange that he was sitting in the den with Damon but at the same time Jeremy, oddly enough, felt normal and relaxed in the presence of the vampire. Even though he had said earlier that it was fine with him if Damon didn't talk about anything serious, truthfully Jeremy was growing more and more curious for the reasons that made Damon act the way he did all of a sudden. Jeremy always knew Damon to be subtle when it came to his personal feelings for things and trumped whatever human-like qualities he got close to showing with either his trademark cockiness, the emotion of indifference or simply violence. As the night had gone so far he didn't show Jeremy any of that; well, besides Damon's mildly cocky personality that was just _Damon_.

Eventually the older of the two males was satisfied with his drink and sat down on the couch next to Jeremy as they both stared in front of them watching the fire that flickered with chaos.

To break the silence Damon started chuckling to himself quietly.

"What's so funny?" Jeremy asked him confused. _Oh yeah, _this definitely wasn't the Damon he was used to.

"Tell me, Jeremy, did you wake up this morning and think to yourself that this is where you'd end up tonight?" If Jeremy were being honest with himself he'd realize that he'd only heard Damon's question partially due to the fact that the vampire's appearance in front of him was distracting Jeremy too much to listen thoroughly.

It was no secret for Jeremy that he found Damon to be a very attractive male but goodness, it never distracted him so far as to miss entire words that came out of Damon. Silently Jeremy had to thank whoever was upstairs that Damon couldn't pull an _Edward Cullen _and listen to his thoughts; surely if Damon could Jeremy probably wouldn't go another second without having a freak out from the vampire.

"Um," Jeremy started to reply as he blinked almost rapidly and breathed out heavily. "No, no honestly can't say that I did." He tried lightening his tone with a small laugh afterward.

Suddenly the room fell quiet again and again Jeremy didn't mind the silence at all; except for the fire popping quietly there wasn't anything to be heard from the two of them. Until,

"So what do you want to know?" Damon questioned quietly.

Not wanting to probe far into any issues they may make things too unpleasant Jeremy decided to recap on Damon's words earlier. "Well if you don't—if you don't mind me asking, um, you said that Elena knew what you had to do?" Jeremy glanced to his right to see Damon's response to his question ready to withdraw it at any time if necessary.

He could see the vampire's jaw clench tightly and his Adam's apple bobble a fraction as he gulped the rest of his drink. After another drape of silence fell into the room Jeremy thought it was appropriate to take back his question but was interrupted before he could say anything.

Damon inhaled through his nose before he spoke. "Her name was Rose. You've probably heard your sister and Stefan talk about her. She was a vampire. And um—she was attacked." He paused momentarily to sip again from his glass, "—by a werewolf." Damon didn't look at Jeremy as he told him; he just blinked a few times, licked lightly at his lips, and stared at the fire while he spoke.

Jeremy refrained from saying anything in response until he knew for sure that Damon was done.

Soon after Damon exhaled in between light and mildly he continued, "You know what a werewolf bite does to a vampire." Damon said, more as a statement than a question. "It's lethal and it takes time. Basically—deteriorates the bitten vampire…slowly." He added. By now his voice was much clearer from before but had slowed down between words that Jeremy understood the reason for.

"After a while the longer the vampire lasts after being bitten is just torture; it's unnecessary." Jeremy didn't do anything but sit where he was while his head had turned to look at Damon completely studying him while the emotions that Jeremy had never seen before flashed on the vampire's face.

"After trying all we could, we knew there was no cure for it." Damon set down his glass onto the table next to him stopping briefly.

"So I stopped the pain for her." Damon said in a different tone of voice than from earlier; with perfect reason Jeremy could hear the sadness and hesitation come from Damon.

From the angle Jeremy was at he could see the brightness of the fire reflect against Damon's frosty blue eyes that had a small coating of tears balancing on his lower eyelids.

It all began to be too much for Jeremy not to do anything remotely comforting so without thought he brought up his arm closest to Damon and put it around the vampire's shoulders. It was only when he felt Damon start to nuzzle the back of his head _very _lightly against Jeremy's arm that he realized exactly what he did and that it seemed not to bother the other male.

"I'm sorry. That you had to do that, Damon." He offered quietly.

Again the entire house fell silent only for the burning fire to be the single thing the vampire and human looked at while in the comfortable and quiet presence of each other.

**3**

_Sorry if the story seems to be going a little slow with the slash but Damon needs to feel lusty for Jeremy…yup, lusty. _;)  
_Thoughts?_


	4. Four

_Sorry, I wanted to update sooner but I started on it late, —had a beast of a psychology mid-term to get through. But here it is!  
Enjoy._

**4**

_**Jeremy's p.o.v**_

Eventually the fire died down by itself and I was left in the darkness of the Salvatore's boarding house living room only able to hear Damon's light breathing next to me. His head had landed on my shoulder; he fell asleep pretty quickly. I only first could tell that he had drifted when I felt his head roll against me and saw that his eyes had closed. I always thought his eyes were what made him look as attractive as he did but after looking at him so close and thoroughly— I saw how beautiful he was. Of course it's strange to think that about him after everything that's happened, after knowing him so well and what he's capable of but I really think the most dangerous thing about him is the way he draws in people. Talking wouldn't even be necessary for him to get the things he wanted. I've heard him before though; the way he knows how to charm people into believing and trusting him. Now is when he isn't even trying and I still want to help him.

It may sound a little weirder than it actually is but I couldn't help but stare at Damon as he rested. The way his face moved as he slept. I'm not sure if it had been a dream that he had or even if vampires _can _dream but the vampire started to look as if he were having a nightmare almost. At first I thought he was awake and could tell that I was watching him but his eyes stayed closed the entire time and long after I saw his face look not only worried but just altogether—kind of sad. It didn't last very long but I could see his eyebrows furrow together as if he were thinking about something diligently and the corners of his lips would move downward into a frown every so often. He never spoke in his sleep but his breathing started changing paces and I saw that he would nibble lightly onto his lower lip. Finally his stirring stopped and his face and breathing went back to the way they were.

When I started to feel him slide down the side of my body I hoped that I wasn't going to wake him as I slid out from under him and got up from the couch. He laid perfectly and unaware as I draped a blanket over him. It probably wasn't necessary but it felt normal. Hell, who am I kidding? Nothing about this is normal. It's not normal for me to find Damon playing with his food on the side of the road, watch him _crying _as he's doing it, it's not normal for him to actually let me talk him out of killing someone and then telling me what brought it all on, and it certainly wasn't normal that I had just been his pillow and am now covering a 170 year old _vampire _with what might as well be a blanky!

But for whatever reason, normal or not—I _wanted_ to do all of those things.

_**No p.o.v**_

After Jeremy covered Damon with a blanket he had found he didn't know if he should stay and wait for the vampire to awaken or just leave. Think that it's poetic or think that it's completely idiotic but nevertheless Jeremy Gilbert didn't want to abandon Damon. After all he had seen and heard from the vampire it was clear that he couldn't take another person leaving him; even if it was just simply Jeremy. He figured the vampire could do a lot worse, _and probably has, _than Jeremy and when Damon wakes up at least he'd have the _option _to turn to Jeremy if he needed it. Or be rattled that the damn human decided to stay and vamp out on the kid. Obviously Jeremy wasn't hoping for the latter of the two.

He sat for a little while just watching Damon sleep quietly. Jeremy noticed that the vampire shifted quite frequently in his sleep. Nothing as worrying or panicky as before but his lower half just kept kicking toward the couch and managed to remove the blanket off of him completely. So Jeremy picked it up and folded it as he found it.

As it didn't look like Damon was going to wake up for a while Jeremy started to get a little curious. He hadn't ever been through the large house and after one thing lead to another he found himself finding some interesting things about the home around him. The place was _huge, _as he already knew but contained some things that had actually intrigued the teenager. He picked up an old, worn, brass pocket watch that was sitting on a book case against the wall that led to the stairs. Jeremy turned the watch around and found the letters "DS" carved neatly into the metal. Jeremy ran his thumb over the engraved letters and could only imagine how old it actually was. He set it back down as he found it, looked over his shoulder to see that Damon was still sleeping and decided that he's not going to become all nosy and venture through the house—but boldly does anyway.

Knowing just how old the place was and having nothing else to do Jeremy was curious to see what other different things he would find in or about the house.

He wisely stayed out of all of the bedrooms; just peeking around down stairs and looking at whatever grabbed his attention. Oddly enough it was a feather and ink set; an old feather but still intact with a sharp black end that looked to have been dipped in ink already and a small corked bottle filled with black liquid to accompany it. Jeremy had always wanted to see what it was like to write with actual feather and ink but decided to abandon his temptation for the thought that it's probably too old for him to just be playing with.

As Jeremy walked deeper into the house looking at random things he didn't notice that the couch was now empty. He didn't hear Damon awaken and he definitely didn't get to see Damon have a small panic in his eyes when he woke up and saw that Jeremy wasn't there. Before Damon woke up fully and was able to hear and smell the human, he hated what he saw; an empty living room with no Jeremy in it. Damon didn't like to admit to himself the level of relief he felt when he realized that Jeremy hadn't left. Wanting to or not didn't matter at the moment, all he cared about was that Jeremy was still there; a feeling all too foreign for him.

Damon could hear Jeremy walking slowly. He knew exactly where he was and knew exactly what he was doing. Jeremy was standing in front of yet another book case except this time his focus was on an old tethered copy of _Gulliver's Travels_ by Jonathon Swift. He had never seen a copy of the book look so old and worn out before. He placed it back where he found it and curiously wandered through the rest of the first floor of the home.

_**Damon's p.o.v**_

I didn't know why Jeremy had stayed and I certainly didn't know why he felt the need to _touch _everything he saw. He wasn't harming anything so I left him be; but I watched. I stood where I was the entire time watching Jeremy pick up whatever caught his interest and make amusing faces at what my guess would be to the things he found odd. Whatever it was, may it be an old book or a random knick-knack he'd touch it lightly or pick it up, study it, then place it back exactly as he found it; almost meticulously. Was he afraid that I'd attack him for moving a candle 4 centimeters to the left of its proper spot?

Jeremy Gilbert was—interesting.

Still I didn't know his reason for staying while I slept; I can't imagine that being _exhilarating _for the young Gilbert.

After a while he stopped touching all that was in his sight and made his way back around to the living room. I stayed where he couldn't see me just to watch his face as he caught a glimpse of the empty couch before him. I must admit that a part of me felt…pleased to see that he had the same expression on his face as I imagine that I had on mine when I first woke up to what appeared to be a vacant house.

I started to smirk as Jeremy began to look around the room to see if he could find me. He even looked behind the couch. Okay that I _had _to laugh at. What the hell would I be doing crouching behind a couch? For a second there I thought he was going to lift a pillow for the small chance that I had shrunk my size to that of Thumbelina just to know that he had checked in every nook and cranny. Sadly he didn't but still left me amused to see him check behind the couch and even saw him begin to bite his bottom lip; for obvious reasons that action didn't amuse me as much as it caused certain anatomy of mine to stiffen slightly…

He sat down on the couch where I was sleeping; which is completely foreign for me because I _never _sleep there. He must've been there before I passed out. _Suddenly Damon remembered drifting away as he leaned on Jeremy's shoulder the entire time._

"Damon?" Jeremy questioned softly.

Had I allowed myself more time I'm pretty certain I could've come up with something a bit more clever but instead I chose to acknowledge my presence a little sooner. The way his face looked when I didn't respond to him almost came off as—worried. I didn't ponder on why that made me feel satisfied but it did.

"Yes?" I replied nonchalantly.

Immediately his eyes landed on me in seconds and even though he thought he concealed the small smile that invaded his lips, I saw it; I saw it just as plain as the Hollywood sign. Maybe because I was looking for it but I'd never tell _him_ that.

_**p.o.v over**_

"Wh-where'd you go?" Jeremy tried asking coolly.

Damon let out a short hum and shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Nowhere. Just watched you touch and pick up _everything _you found." He made sure he said it with a smallish smile on his face. Fine, maybe he liked teasing the human; but only because Jeremy made it so much fun for Damon.

"Oh, uh—sorry. I um, I got kinda got a little bored and there's so many cool things around I got a little overly curious for a second." Damon could see the male's face start to change color from its normal pale peachy complexion to a very light shade of pink.

"No problem." The vampire retorted swiftly as he brought up both his hands in a peaceful gesture.

He could hear the forceful gulp that Jeremy took as his eyes scanned Damon's figure _not-so _subtly. While Jeremy remained sitting on the couch Damon took the initiative and walked over to the human and gracefully took the seat next to him. By now it must've been around 2 in the morning and Damon could tell that the late hour was starting to take its toll on Jeremy.

As Damon watched Jeremy's eyes threaten to fall heavily he couldn't help but let his gaze fall down from the aforementioned eyes that were the shade of chocolate brown to the young man's cheek bones and over his smooth skin. All the while Jeremy didn't even notice that the room fell silent, Damon was doing nothing but staring at him, and all Jeremy could was force himself to stay awake for reason that he wasn't even aware of.

Finally to break the silence, and also because Damon knew that the more he stared at Jeremy the harder it'd be not to touch him, the vampire announced the obvious. "You're tired. You need to get some rest." Half hating that he brought it up knowing that it meant Jeremy was going to leave.

Without moving much Jeremy managed to get out his phone from his pocket to check the time and suddenly it was as if he had just taken an extra shot of espresso. "Oh my god, it's um—it's later than I thought." Jeremy groaned to himself slightly as he was mentally kicking himself for losing track of time. If he left now and tried going home he'd have to face the wrath of his aunt Jenna because more than likely he'd wake her and a sleep-deprived Jenna plus pissed off to begin with does not make for a happy guardian; all of which Jeremy knew and dreaded to face.

He must've worn his emotions on his sleeve at the time because Damon noticed the slight change Jeremy expressed, "You can–", he stopped for just a millisecond thinking over what exactly he was going to say, "If you don't want to wake your house up you can sleep here." It was a rare feeling for Damon; a twinge of nervousness and regret. His nerves sending alerts to his brain because he had just extended an offer to Jeremy to stay in his home for the rest of the night and regret for the fact that the offer could just as easily be rejected. He didn't even notice himself growling at the fact that he even _worried_ about his offer being rejected. _So what, _he tried brushing it off as if it wouldn't matter.

Jeremy may have been sleepy and his senses weren't all completely at their sharpest level but he definitely heard the low growl coming deep from the throat of the vampire next to him. He was just too tired to even think twice about it.

Jeremy normally would've declined the proposal of sleeping in a house with a vampire with the reputation that Damon Salvatore held but through his drowsy haze all Jeremy could think about was the long walk it'd take to get back to his home, the lecture that he was too damn tired to pretend to listen to, and the fact that it'd be _extremely _easy to fall out for a few hours and deal with the mess of what he left behind tomorrow when he's not as sleepy. It took him a little bit longer to respond to Damon's suggestion and just as the vampire, who was growing impatient and just a little anxious, was going to rescind the invitation, Jeremy spoke up.

"Are you—you sure?" He asked with a hesitant pause.

Well it wasn't him declining whatever it was that Damon had thrown out there; more of a sign that Jeremy was nervous, as he had every right to be. The vampire he was sharing the couch with stretched out his neck letting the faint popping noises shatter the silence and he exhaled lightly through his nose trying to collect himself. Damon Salvatore didn't worry about petty things such as a mere _human _turning down a stupid offer of crashing in a vacant room so he doesn't risk the chance of getting mauled by some vicious supernatural creature, or worse, _Jenna. _

Though for whatever reason, Damon found himself being just a tad relieved that Jeremy was considering staying for the night. Whether it was that Damon didn't want to be alone after the shitty day and night he's had or the fact that he found something… comforting in Jeremy Gilbert that made his presence and only his alone make the awful, painful feeling in the vampire's stomach go away, if even for a little, Damon wasn't sure but either way—he wanted him to stay.

So trying to earn what little trust he could from Jeremy, "Yeah. You can stay in one of the guest rooms if you want."

After a soft and breathy yawn escaped from Jeremy's lips he managed to whisper, _'okay'._

Damon stayed for a second or two looking at Jeremy as his eyes closed sleepily for a moment before getting up and finding a toothbrush and a decent room for Jeremy to stay in.

When the vampire came back to the living room he found a sleeping Jeremy already spread out across the couch. Knowing that that particular piece of furniture wasn't exactly made for sleeping for long periods of time Damon very swiftly and in one smooth movement scooped Jeremy off of the couch and carried him in his arms through the house and up to his room.

**4**

_Thoughts?_

_Apologies if there are any inaccuracies in this chapter about the details of the boardinghouse.  
Also sorry if it seemed choppy and in pieces, that's kind of how it came to be, all in different settings. _


	5. Five

_If anyone reading this finds slash to be unpleasant, please read with caution.  
Thank you SO MUCH for the reviews._

**5**

Damon dropped the young male gently from his arms and onto the just made bed that Damon had fixed for him. He noticed now that it was pretty much a waste of time because at the moment all Jeremy preferred was something soft and maybe a pillow. The kid was out like a light. Being careful not to wake the sleeping Gilbert in matter of milliseconds Damon pulled off the comforter, slipped Jeremy between the sheets and blankets and covered him with the bedding.

Later on Damon would probably psychoanalyze himself as to why he even cared about Jeremy's comfort but it didn't change the fact that seeing Jeremy lie there peacefully and unharmed had sent a feeling of contentment through the vampire.

Deciding that now definitely wasn't the time to sit and gawk at the human any longer Damon—somewhat grudgingly—pulled himself out of the empty bedroom he had put Jeremy in and crossed the hall to his own bedroom.

Slowly Damon twisted the handle that was connected to the door and squeezed with strength that was most definitely too robust to be necessary and opened it. Damon clenched his jaw tightly and what probably would've been painful for a human as he stood in the entrance of the room that he hadn't stepped foot in since—_Rose._

He could still hear the residue of voices lurking from the hours before. The room was taunting him. Proving that he _did _grow attached to something and that yet again all that leads to is misery. Still Damon didn't enter. He swallowed dryly and winced as his eyes fell onto the bed.

With speed too fast for the human eye Damon went to the bed, ripped all the linens off of it and threw the tainted bedding out of the room with a snarl.

He didn't need that. Not tonight.

Once Damon lit a fire outside of the boardinghouse and torched all of the contents that had been removed from his bed he went back inside. Now more than ever Damon was grateful for the fact that Stefan wasn't there. He'd just make the situation more than what it really was. Damon needed to remove the reminder of what happened as best as he could; so he did.

Several moments had passed with Damon still not returning to his room. Instead he sat in the living room with a glass of scotch in his hand and he was looking at the active fire place. He didn't care for the irony of it but the vampire loved fire. He enjoyed watching the colors and the flames flicker wildly and he liked the glow that the fireplace illuminated onto the dark house. Technically fire should be a vampire's nightmare, that and a stake, but Damon felt otherwise when he knew that it posed as no threat to him.

So there he was sitting on the couch that both he and Jeremy had fell asleep on as he watched the red, orange, and yellows in front of him blaze together while the entire house was enveloped in silence again.

Until he heard something.

Damon heard distinct noises coming from upstairs and in a blink of an eye he was on the second floor of the house and by Jeremy's side. Damon saw that Jeremy was still asleep but making noises. Discomforting groans, sighs, and whimpers came from the human by Damon's side and the vampire didn't like it. He didn't mind the noise but he didn't like how Jeremy looked, how he _sounded. _The younger male looked almost troubled in his sleep. The kind of look plastered on his face that only—and very strangely—saddened Damon.

…so, Damon stayed.

It was only when the noises stopped coming from Jeremy and his face had returned to its look of peacefulness that Damon left his side. However, while Damon sat next to the boy in deep sleep he had time to think. He thought about why in the hell he was so concerned over Elena's younger brother. He thought about why Jeremy had stayed for Damon and he thought about why it was so important that he _did _stay for the nocturnal vampire. His mind kept going to the fact that for the briefest moment, Damon had been bothered when he thought that Jeremy left while he slept. He kept remembering that unsubtle relief that washed over him when he knew where exactly Jeremy was; that he knew that Jeremy stayed.

And from all of the time spent _thinking_ Damon came to a conclusion.

_He needed Jeremy._

At first Damon wrote off all of the realizations as that all he really needed was _someone. _Just a person that he knew would be there; which, by the way, was not the easiest thing to come to terms with. Damon Salvatore didn't like the fact that he _needed _anyone or anything. But after tonight the truth became painstakingly obvious. When times came that vulnerability and desolation came knocking at Damon's door, he needed someone to answer it for him.

Then what hit Damon like a brick wall was worry. Worry for the chance that just because he needed Jeremy didn't mean that the feeling would be reciprocated. Jeremy had no reason to even be there for Damon; which exactly was the reason for Damon being so damn confused as to why Jeremy was there in the first place. He could've left as soon as Damon fell asleep, hell he didn't even have to come to the boardinghouse at all.

Confusion and other unwanted emotions were really starting to get on the vampire's nerves.

Just after Damon finished off another blood bag he returned to the guest room that Jeremy was sleeping in. Now was the time that Damon was confused as to why _he_ was staying.

_Because you don't want him to wake up and leave, that's why._

He winced as the blunt truth floated around in his head.

Damon had never been a man of patience. He was beginning to think _too much_ and now all he's gotten are thoughts that won't go away and questions that needed answers to.

He could wake Jeremy up forcefully; it'd be easy. However, the boy did look tired and he'd probably wake up irritable and not even in the mood to answer any of the insane questions that rambled in and out of Damon's mind.

_Oh well, the kid'll get over it._

As innocently as he could Damon ghosted his fingers along the skin of Jeremy's arm. He wouldn't touch him, just trailed them in the air above Jeremy's body and knew that even without physical contact that Jeremy could feel it. As much to Damon's surprise he saw the kid smiling. True, it was a very light and faint smile, more of a groggy, dazed out, lazy smile that one would get from a stoner but—still.

This only prompted Damon to ghost the tips of his fingers up to the boy's neck and eventually to the side of his face. As the vampire continued the smile on Jeremy's face grew stronger and wider until finally…

Damon was thankful for his speed because otherwise Jeremy would've woken up to a hand over his face. Talk about an awkward moment.

Jeremy's eyes opened sleepily, he let out a soft and exhausted yawn, tried his best to adjust his eyes and when they finally did he almost had a mini-heart attack. No he didn't wake up to find Damon hovering over and "not touching" him but to find Damon at all in the bedroom that he was currently sleeping in was enough to give Jeremy a shock. He blinked his eyes furiously at the sight in front of him. Damon was sitting on a chair that was by his bed and all he was doing was looking at Jeremy as if the human had every bit of his attention. Not a creepy stare but one that was anxious for Jeremy to fully awaken.

Finally able to sit up in his bed and see clearly he opened his mouth to break the silence but Damon beat him to the punch. "Why did you stay with me?" He asked slow and quietly. The last thing Damon wanted to do was scare Jeremy off. All of his damn thinking and nonsense ideas of Jeremy ever wanting to be there for him again would go out of the psychotic window completely if Damon screwed it up by asking something too forward.

Still tired and just a little dizzy, Jeremy cleared his throat and thought quickly as to what an appropriate response would be. For him to come off as overly worrying or nosy or annoying would just freak the vampire out. The truth was that he stayed because he didn't want Damon to awaken with no one there; he worried for him, having to kill someone that you care about because they'll suffer otherwise is tragic, and devastating and Jeremy didn't care if Damon were a vampire, human, or Oprah fucking Winfrey—that would take its toll on anyone. Also, another reason, maybe even a bigger one, Jeremy wanted to be that person there for Damon—he cared about him.

But could he really admit that without sounding like a total girl?

He let out a sigh of disappointment and defeat realizing that any other answer he would come up with would sound just as lame or complete bullshit.

"Honestly—while you slept, I couldn't leave. I – I didn't want to. I um…" he paused as he shut his eyes tightly hating himself for what he was going to say next. "I didn't want you to—to wake up… alone, with no one there, –not after what happened. I know I'm the last person to ever be there for you Damon but it—it seemed like you needed someone," he licked his lips hoping not to say the wrong things, "I couldn't have walked away when you were going through that."

It only took him a few seconds after he had finished talking for him to open his eyes again. When he did he found a surprisingly light vampire straddling him. Jeremy's eyes had widened and his mouth fell open slightly when he saw and realized that Damon had climbed on top of him. Damon's knees were on either side of his hips planted firmly on the bed. His torso was straightened formally and both hands were on the tops of his thighs. Soon Jeremy wondered why Damon's face turned from a very serious yet unsure look to a light smirk. When he looked down he could see why Damon was suddenly smirking. To Jeremy's _horror _his lower body was…excited.

Damon knew clearly that his action had caused the same thing from Jeremy as it did for himself.

Jeremy mentally cursed to himself and embarrassingly groaned softly as he threw back his head and connected somewhat painfully to the headboard. He was having a fucking hard on while a male vampire was sitting above him and all the while Damon wasn't moving an inch, just smirking. But then again, why the hell was he sitting on Jeremy in the first place? Truthfully Jeremy really didn't care what the reason was but he wasn't going to be ashamed when it was the vampire's sporadic decision to straddle him.

What happened next surprised the nervous human. He felt a pair of hot and indulgent lips mold to the side of his neck and kiss softly on his skin. The breath that was exiting very slowly and unevenly through the younger male's mouth had slowed down even more as he felt the warmth from Damon's mouth onto his neck and shoulder spread throughout his body only creating certain areas to grow even larger.

As Damon lifted his mouth and attached his lips onto Jeremy's he didn't feel the human kiss him back. All he felt was the body under him stiffen entirely and could hear Jeremy's heart beat wildly. Damon wasn't one that needed his ego stroked constantly but usually when he made the first move it was never a habit of the other person to not do _anything_. So—Damon retracted his upper body slightly for it only to be drawn back again by the hand that was placed softly on the back of his neck.

It took Jeremy a little time to respond only because none of this was what he expected. The only reason he would have thought for why Damon had been on him was because he was angry for Jeremy saying that he was in need of someone but not for _this. _As he felt those lips on the side of his neck he froze, and when he felt that same talented mouth touch his own it was as if his body were buzzing with heat. The sensation he experienced caused his head to spin; when he felt Damon stop kissing him and draw back the only thing Jeremy thought to do was bring him forward again and attacked his lips with his own.

Neither of them put much force into it. While Jeremy was struck with shock and disbelief Damon was busy trying not to hurt the human beneath him.

Suddenly Jeremy grasped the front of Damon's shirt gently tugging the older male closer to him. All the restraint Damon was holding onto vanished as he felt Jeremy draw him closer and deepen their kiss. It was Jeremy that extended his tongue invitingly and touched Damon's bottom lip lightly. He could hear the vampire moan quietly; it was only seconds until Damon opened his mouth and felt his tongue being sucked by the other male's lips.

He hadn't wanted what was coming next. Damon didn't want his fangs to come out while Jeremy kissed him. He was just _so _good at it. Jeremy could feel the sharp teeth begin to emerge; he could tell that Damon was beginning to withdraw because of it thinking that his neck was about to be fed on but abruptly Jeremy's body was abandoned.

As quick as the speed of lightening Damon removed himself from Jeremy and stood on the other side of the room facing against him.

The room was dark. Jeremy was trying to catch his breath and among the silence all he heard from the vampire before he disappeared was a short and whispered, _"I'm sorry"._

**5**

_Thoughts?_

_Since it's the first chapter with Jeremy & Damon "physical romance", I'd __**love **__to see what you guys thought of it.  
__Should the pace be slowed down a bit or taken up a notch? If anybody's got a preference—_**let me know!  
**_(Smutty details aren't my specialty but I'm working on it.)_**  
**_Oh, oh, and if it seems confusing the whole story is supposed to be ironic where both of them kind of feel the same way but one is struggling to let himself admit it and the other is scared of what will happen if he speaks of it; which is also ironic because both are actually going through that, just one more than the other. —Sorry for such a long author's note. _:)


	6. Six

_Warning: Long, slashy chapter ahead. _

**6**

Silence.

Jeremy listened as hard and as careful as he could. There was nothing to be heard; not floor boards creaking, not feet shuffling along, not even the fire burning downstairs. He peeked outside of the window and could see the crescent moon still resting above in the dark sky. It was filled with smoky charcoal colored clouds each dancing their way out of the thin light that shown from the moon. It was Jeremy's favorite time of everyday. The darkness just felt—comforting.

Yet now that comfort and protection hadn't come to him. He was confused, he was nervous, and as nice as it'd sound to throw in a delicate adjective right about now, the truth of the matter was that Jeremy was painfully…well – "he was in the mood".

Which was an awful thought to be obsessing over now. Damon was off only god knows where and for some reason _apologizing _to Jeremy. It's not like the vampire was making him do something he didn't want to do. If anything Jeremy should've been the one to apologize. More to himself than anything because at the moment what he was experiencing with Damon—that kiss, it meant more to him than it should have. There was a certain place in his body where when he felt the fangs begin to poke through he was anxious to feel that pleasure one experiences when being fed off of willingly. He had remembered what it felt like with Anna. The way she'd make him feel as she slowly took what he could give her. As he had laid with Damon on top of him he wanted that feeling again; he wanted it with Damon.

As Jeremy remained on his bed he was more confused now than he was before. What had that meant? Sure, Damon was the one to crawl on _him _and then start to suck _his _neck and even begin kissing him but Jeremy made it pretty obvious that he wanted it just as much. He pulled Damon closer against him as he felt the older male start to recede and the feeling that Jeremy was losing from not being close to Damon started to feel uncomfortable so instinctively Jeremy started to kiss him back.

Suddenly the human began shaking his head in shame. All the while the only thing he was thinking of was what was going on in _his _head. Damon was the one going through hell and back. He was the one who just had to do something unthinkable and all Jeremy was doing was staying in his bed analyzing _way _too much into the situation. The only thing he needed to be doing right now was finding Damon before anything else happened that night.

Trying to calm himself down Jeremy inhaled and exhaled slowly before he got up out of the warm bed. He still didn't hear anything from the house. Of course the logical reason would be that the only thing that could've been making noise was Damon and he was a vampire for goodness sake. Yet still, Jeremy had hoped to hear _some _sign of Damon.

The teenager threw what was left of the covers off of his body and planted his feet onto the floor. Trying to walk as quietly as he could Jeremy tip-toed out of the room he was in and stepped out onto the hall. If you had asked him exactly why he was trying so hard as to not make a peep…he probably couldn't give a legitimate answer. Maybe it was because he didn't want to spook Damon but that was silly as well seeing that the company in question was a creature with excellent speed, grace, vision, and _hearing. _But still, Damon was fragile right not and Jeremy knew it. He just focused on finding him.

As Jeremy descended from the top of the stairs he looked around slowly to see if he could spot Damon anywhere near. He wasn't in his usual spot in the living room. The fireplace was cut off, there weren't any glasses anywhere that Jeremy could find, and there didn't seem to be a single thing out of place.

Finally Jeremy grasped some common sense and realized that there _were _other rooms in the house. Damon was probably in one of the rooms upstairs but…Jeremy wasn't particularly looking forward to peeping in the bedrooms where he wasn't welcome.

Then—suddenly—the silence was broken from outside. It could've been the wind making the noise but Jeremy had gotten curious so, at a bit of a quicker pace than from before, he walked from where he stood by the staircase to the front door and opened it.

When he stepped outside into the cold night his senses were buzzing all through him. His vision was partly blinded because it was so dark out, the cold air sent chills and goose bumps down his skin, his ears were straining to hear some kind of sign of Damon, and what had intrigued Jeremy the most, was the smell all around him. He could smell…smoke?

The young human furrowed his brows together in confusion and curiosity for what could possibly have made the strange smell so he walked a little away from the house and looked for fire or anything burning.

Finally he walked half way around the massive boarding house and saw a dark figure standing above scorched ground where burned logs had laid.

"You should go." The vampire said softly.

He didn't have to turn around to know that Jeremy was standing just meters away from him staring at him from behind. The truth was that Damon had gone outside so that the male could leave in peace. The entire time he stood in front of the spot he had earlier burned the linens on he was listening to Jeremy in the house; waiting for him to make his exit. Not thinking that the boy would actually stay as long as he had and then actually stay standing behind him.

Damon thought for sure that he had scared the human.

"Are you okay? —I mean, I know what you said earlier about… about that question but – did – did I do something wrong?" Jeremy asked as he paused between words. He remembered from before that apparently Damon didn't take too fondly to the word _okay. _

He may not have been able to see with the best vision at night but he could clearly see the movement of the older male's head after he asked his question.

"_I_ did." Damon replied, still not looking at Jeremy.

Jeremy debated on whether or not he should ask the question that was on the tip of his tongue. He wasn't sure of what Damon was talking about but if Jeremy pushed the subject too far he was afraid of what might happen.

So cautiously he cleared his throat, spoke in a soft voice and asked, "What did you do wrong?"

"Everything."

Jeremy barely heard it but it was there.

"You mean—um, just now?" The human asked nervously.

Again he could see Damon shake his head in a nodding motion and suddenly Jeremy could feel a certain confidence that he hadn't earlier. He thought it was absurd that Damon was feeling guilty for something Jeremy wasn't even opposed to in the first place.

Before the younger male said anything he built up enough courage to take a few steps closer. His breathing didn't really quicken all that much but he could feel his heart beat faster and faster the closer he got to Damon. After he was standing just close enough to touch Damon if he wanted to Jeremy spoke, "It wasn't anything I didn't want." He said soft and meekly.

At that point Jeremy had to make a decision. He could either accept the fact that Damon realizes now that he had made a mistake in kissing him and leave or he could do what he really wants to and worry about whether or not he's making a mistake until he actually makes it.

With no response from the quiet vampire Jeremy hesitantly extended his hand and experimentally touched the vampire's hand that was lowered by his side.

Jeremy could barely breathe as he used his fingers to stroke the side of Damon's index finger and inner thumb and could feel the response he was getting. Damon little by little moved his hand and slowly curled his fingers around Jeremy's hand softly. This kind of behavior was new for both of them leaving neither of them feeling all too confident about what was happening but still Damon liked the feeling he was getting and Jeremy reveled in the fact that Damon was responding positively rather than the multitude of negative scenarios that had played in his head.

Inch by inch the closer Jeremy got the more Damon started to respond until finally the human was caught off guard by the incredible speed portrayed by the vampire. Jeremy could feel his back being pressed lightly against the side of the boardinghouse while his front was being pressed against Damon's body. He's seen other times where Damon blurs his way into a person's personal zone and he's seen before the way that Damon had a habit of snarling as he did it but Jeremy noted that this time Damon wasn't snarling, using much force, or anything that could've even sent worry or fear to Jeremy. All he experienced was the fact that he could feel a sudden hardness not only come from inside his jeans but from the outer area where Damon was standing as well.

Damon swallowed roughly, scanned Jeremy's face with much focus to detail and licked his lips searching for any sign telling him to stop. Before Damon had the chance to withdraw or lean in he felt his mouth being kissed by the soft lips that had belonged to Jeremy. The younger of the two males had leaned in and planted his lips softly onto the vampire's. He kissed the immortal man with little force but with much need. He didn't want Damon to escape again. He didn't want to be left for a second time with the only words to be stuck in his mind are, "I'm sorry". He just didn't want it and thankfully he wasn't getting it. He could feel Damon kiss him back with the same amount of need and hunger as himself.

While Damon didn't relieve the pressure he was putting onto Jeremy's middle he was no longer gripping the human's wrists which allowed for Jeremy to slowly bring his hands up and gently grasped onto each side of Damon's waist. If it were even possible Jeremy managed to bring Damon even closer to him. With both being able to feel the other's "excitement" mutual and soft moans escaped both mouths and into the other's. Soon the friction, heat, and anticipation weren't enough for neither Damon nor Jeremy.

Damon found himself wanting more and even though Jeremy had technically started it by grabbing his hand he still didn't want to force himself onto him. So as it was painful for himself to pull back from Jeremy and release the heat his middle was receiving, he did. He drew back his body, broke off their kiss and stood inches away from Jeremy. It had only made it much harder for him to do so as he heard the whimpers coming from Jeremy as their bodies and kiss were separated.

Finally, not being able to take it anymore and his hands still curled around Damon's body he brought the vampire closer to him again and resumed what they were doing.

He kissed Damon's lips soft and lightly.

It was Damon's turn to reciprocate—and he did; _gladly. _

Jeremy found the kiss to deepen as Damon brought up one of his hands and ran his fingers through his hair. Jeremy couldn't help himself from enjoying the attention he was getting and slightly lolled his head back to feel Damon gently massaging the back of his head and neck. Taking the action as an opportunity Damon broke off their kiss and started to guide his lips from Jeremy's mouth to his cheek, jaw bone, and to finally his neck. He paused before running the tip of his tongue across the skin of Jeremy's neck. He could feel the blood underneath flowing freely and pulsating under his mouth. With no restraint and from all of the heat the human was radiating Damon couldn't stop his fangs from emerging. Knowing that this was where Damon had the habit of leaving Jeremy brought him closer and guided his hands to Damon's back lightly scratching him with the tips of his fingers.

"It's okay." Was all Jeremy said before he felt the most delicious and intoxicating pain he'd ever felt from another guy; heck, from anyone really. He'd experienced the exhilaration from when Anna did it but with Damon something was different. Damon drank from him slowly and at the same time massaged various parts of his body doing his best to relax Jeremy.

The two of them stood as Damon moaned into Jeremy's skin and sucked his blood away while Jeremy found a little more courage and managed to slip his hands under Damon's shirt and grazed softly at his back.

_Jeremy's p.o.v_

I felt him dive his fangs into my skin, and it felt amazing. Like fire, the feeling you only get when your body experiences a mass amount of pleasure, emotion, and heat. It was an explosion found just beneath my surface that was inexplicable and addicting.

_p.o.v over_

Before Damon started to take any more he pulled away from the blood, body, and taste and looked back at Jeremy again.

This time Jeremy could see everything. He could see Damon's veins showing through his skin, he could see the sharp teeth that had replaced his human ones, but most of all he could see his own blood running just a little from Damon's mouth. Or maybe, – maybe what had been most of all was that he could see Damon's eyes. He recognized the look in them. It was the same looked he had seen earlier that night when Damon had released Jessica and let the girl run to her car. Jeremy saw rare sorrow in those eyes.

Overwhelmed with emotions he slowly licked off the excess blood that he gathered from around Damon's lips. He licked smoothly across the soft skin and mouth area collecting all the tastes he could. He could taste his blood, he could taste Damon's lips, and to Jeremy's surprise he could taste tears.

Without asking about it he kissed softly on Damon's mouth again. He did it multiple times before Damon bit gently onto his bottom lip asking for Jeremy to open his mouth. When the human did he could feel and taste more blood this time. He had guessed that now Damon had punctured his own tongue from one of his fangs and could taste the vampire's blood. It was sweet with a flavor of tanginess to it. Whatever Jeremy tasted was insatiable. He found himself _craving _for it; all of it. The heat, the closeness, the blood, both his and Damon's, everything there was to experience between him and Damon Jeremy realized that he'd end up needing and desiring the feeling.

His own tongue lapped over Damon's and could feel him run his hands over his back.

Smoothly Jeremy took out his hands out from under Damon's shirt and guided them to the front of it grasping gently at it. He motioned for the vampire to follow him as he walked backwards back up to the house.

Still there connection hot and explorative Damon allowed Jeremy to lead him wherever he wanted to. Just as long as Damon could feel Jeremy's body against his own he didn't really care where they were going.

It took the two longer than it normally would have if both of them were walking forward but finally they made their way up the steps and through the entrance.

Jeremy left Damon's lips to travel down to his throat and placed light kisses on his skin. He could physically hear and feel the gentle moaning and slight breathing changes that Damon made as his neck was being kissed and licked lightly.

Through the kissing and touching Jeremy's hand found Damon's and led him back up stairs to the room that he had slept in earlier. Before the two even got into the bedroom Damon's mouth had found its way back to Jeremy's lips and kissed him as if he were begging for it. Little did he realize that Jeremy needed it just as much as he did.

Damon laid them both onto the unmade bed never ceasing the kiss between them. He let out what was obvious to be a weak growl as he felt the younger male nibble on his bottom lip and tracing the tip of his tongue across the bitten bottom lip.

Up until now the most of the time they touched and kissed each other it was slow and even on the lines of tender but not anymore. Jeremy was giving all there was to be given to Damon and the vampire needed it more than ever. The mere fact that Jeremy—the person he had come to the conclusion of needing—was coming to _him_, was _his _choice of what was going on between them now, had made Damon feel better than he thought was possible that night. All Damon had to wonder was if it had meant more to him than it actually did for Jeremy.

But before the older male had time to reevaluate the situation the human who between now and the time they landed on the bed had managed to work his way on top of Damon started inching his body downward on Damon's.

Damon just lied there relishing in the sensation Jeremy was creating with his mouth onto Damon's neck. The vampire didn't even contend when he felt his shirt gradually being lifted further and further up giving Jeremy more room to kiss and suck his torso.

The movement and sounds coming from Damon were what urged Jeremy to keep going. Normally he was never so assertive but there was something in the combination of Damon's body, the willingness of it all, and the raw side he was getting from Damon that made Jeremy want to ravish the body beneath him.

He swiftly lifted Damon's lower torso for a better angle and took off the shirt that had been getting in the way. Of course Damon had to do help mostly because with zero restraint Damon rose his upper body up off of the bed so Jeremy could easily remove his top.

A small smile played on Jeremy's lips when he heard the reaction he had gotten when he started kissing nearer to one of Damon's nipples. He heard anxious grunts and moans dance on the lips of Damon who laid back and felt Jeremy swirl his tongue across his chest.

Jeremy planted opened mouthed kisses from one peck to the other and trailed down from the middle of Damon's chest straight down to his belly button. He would've kept going south if it hadn't been for Damon's hand to attach itself to the back of Jeremy's neck and brought him up for a deep kiss. Jeremy had to admit that while he liked the slow and careful kisses they had given to one another earlier he really liked it when Damon took the initiative to kiss him with more power. The vampire sucked his bottom lip with the most seductive pressure and swiped his tongue across it smoothly.

The youngest Gilbert did his best not to let out whispered giggles as he felt Damon's hands rise up and touch both sides of his torso. He didn't realize that Damon was trying to take his top off. While the feeling of Damon's hands on his body felt magnificent Jeremy was extremely ticklish in that specific area so he worked to get his t-shirt off mostly leaving it still on his shoulders so Damon could take it off himself.

By now both the males had been completely bared of all clothing on their upper bodies and currently Damon's chest and tummy were covered in kisses and small grazes of Jeremy's teeth. Damon had no problem in letting Jeremy do whatever he wanted to his body. Which for Damon, had been odd because normally he preferred to be in control but on that night—while he felt the way he did—it was just what he needed; for Jeremy to take him the way he was doing.

* * *

_So sorry for the gap in updates. This chapter was kind of difficult in producing and I'm still not sure if I love it or not (or even like it for that matter, I don't know. What'd you guys think?) ...but here it is. Hope you all enjoyed it.  
__**Quick question for all you amazing people: **__Are there any songs that you'd suggest that kind of relate to this story?  
I ask because I'm in some serious __need of some musical inspiration for this story.  
__**So anything jogging you guys' brains…please put it in a review! **_**:)**


	7. Seven

_I noticed this story seriously lacks in its dialogue so while it's not a whole lot, here it goes!_

**7**

_Jeremy's p.o.v_

I knew I probably shouldn't have but I couldn't help it. Having Damon lying next to me sleeping with his upper half naked, just free for the touching was hard to resist; impossible, actually. Every ridge there was of his abs and chest made the desire to touch him unbearable. Desperately hoping not to awaken him I brushed lightly against his skin with my fingertips. I know vampires are known to be ice cold but…and this may've just been because it was specifically Damon's body but his skin seemed to emit this delectable amount of heat onto my hands. I was… —fascinated.

Apparently the two of us had a mutual pleasure in watching the other sleep. I know that's what he was doing earlier; I may have been in mostly a sleeping state of consciousness but I could still feel his hands ghost over my skin. I still don't know if he saw the smile on my face or not when I could feel him but it was there.

Now I can see his fascination in it.

The sun was bound to come up soon. A part of me wished it didn't. Once daylight hits the horizon I'm afraid of this going away; disappearing as a memory. At the risk of sounding already too attached I dreaded the probability of reality sinking in as soon as the night was over.

I found Damon on what was probably one of his most emotional and vulnerable moments and was there for what I thought to be for comfort, and eventually because I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. Once the need for something is gone—then, sadly for me, that's that.

_p.o.v over_

Before Damon fell asleep against Jeremy's side the two found themselves in a position of half snuggling and half resting against each other. Neither one spoke a word in the small window of them not kissing and before Damon fell asleep. While they were both awake if there was a time of silence going on for too long either Damon or Jeremy would start kissing the other again. Sometimes it'd be a searing hot connection between the two each struggling to find different areas of the other's skin to attack and mark and the other times were spent exploring, each seeing just how soft they could get with the other before things heated up again.

Before it ended, before Jeremy was left alone again, he wasn't confused anymore. The whole feeling of him being like that with Damon made perfect sense. However, when he was left with nothing but time and silence to think, he started second guessing it again. _Had it just been for one night? _

If there had been someone else in the room observing Jeremy's face they would probably bust a gut from laughing too hard because literally the second Damon started stirring in his sleep Jeremy's eyes widened in what looked to have been sheer panic and shock.

He knew it. The sun was slowly rising, normality was shifting back into place, and the vampire was arising from his slumber to tell Jeremy that he was no longer needed. His company had gotten Damon through the night and he could go along his merry little way to pretend that nothing had ever happened and if it did, then it certainly didn't change anything.

Oh the horror.

In the few moments that it took for Damon to open his eyes little by little and shift in the same bed next to Jeremy the young human took the time to appreciate it once more. He could still feel Damon's body against his own and he tried memorizing as best he could as to what it felt like.

Then suddenly Jeremy felt something. He watched as Damon's hand crawled slowly up his naked stomach and landed its way onto Jeremy chest lightly digging five fingers into his skin. Damon opened his eyes completely—somewhat sleepily but opened nonetheless—saw that Jeremy was still in the same bed as him and… if Jeremy hadn't known any better… Damon smiled.

Jeremy raised his eyebrows in disbelief as he saw what had begun to appear as a small smile on Damon's lips.

"I'm surprised you stayed." Damon spoke out quietly.

Jeremy bit his lower lip before responding. "I didn't want to leave." He chuckled briefly, a bit embarrassed that he actually said that so plainly.

From the way the two were laying Jeremy's upper body was perched up against the headboard and Damon was still lying down pressed almost flush against Jeremy's body lying on his back. While Damon was surprised that Jeremy had actually said that, he was also glad for it.

At a slow pace Jeremy asked nervously, "Did you—want me to go?" He uneasily nibbled on the side of his bottom lip hating that he just let himself ask that. At the same time though Jeremy was relieved he had gotten it out. For him to just sit there worrying silently about it was getting him nowhere, except for maybe a possible headache.

Typically when asked a question like that Damon would try playing either indifferent to the subject or turning it around so that he didn't have to answer such serious questions but this time he didn't waste his time in thinking of a bullshit answer. He just answered honestly and directly. "I wanted you to _stay_." Damon just realized he said the word _want _as past tense. He found himself correcting and emphasizing almost immediately, "—_want_ you to stay."

The vampire internally groaned to himself. Damn he hated the way he must've sounded just then. Since when did he start noticing all of what he was saying and how the other could interpret it? Since when did he actually start to care?

_At the time that you realized that Jeremy helped you more than you could ever imagine and that you actually needed him. Go ahead; admit it now, you're just going to later anyways._

"Guess it's a good thing that I did then." He tried saying it in his best nonchalant voice he could muster up while laying half naked with Damon's body touching him but Jeremy's focus was just too busy to be concentrated on his voice at the moment. Plus, the fact that he was smiling at the time didn't really help his case either. It was a good thing Damon couldn't see Jeremy's face from the angle he was at because the site would be Jeremy fighting off a thankful grin. Which for Jeremy Gilbert was adorable but obviously he'd never think so.

And just when he thought he was safe Damon's face lifted from looking downward, turned to face Jeremy, and did nothing but look at the human beside him. Luckily for Jeremy he managed to tune down the grin, which was fighting to emerge, into a soft smile-smirk looking thing. If it hadn't been for his pouty lips the smile on his face wouldn't have been nearly as cute as it currently was. Figuring that the two obviously weren't holding anything back that night Damon brought down Jeremy's face with the help of his hand planted on the back of the younger male's neck and kissed him right on his cute, smiling lips.

The only reason it took Jeremy a few seconds to kiss back was that he still wasn't used to the sudden kissing but when it had sank in that Damon had just kissed him, his lips gladly responded. They moved perfectly together matching each nibble with a soft bite. After several moments of kissing back and forth Jeremy took his outer arm, the one furthest from Damon, swung it across Damon's body and used it to prop himself up as he started to sink his body lower to match Damon's and swiftly planted both hands onto the bed on either side of the man next to him.

Jeremy temporarily broke off their connection when he felt Damon's hands rise up and rub up along the middle of his bare back. The vampire beneath him noticed the absent pair of lips that weren't on his anymore and looked up at Jeremy.

"What's the matter?" Damon asked warily.

Jeremy took in a quick, small amount of breath, licked his lips cautiously, and lied back down next to Damon. He thought carefully as to what he should've said in response but truth be told there was only one way of it coming out and he honestly hated how it would've sounded. So he bit the bullet, looked away from Damon's bright blue eyes and answered, "I'm confused."

Damon was looking at Jeremy's profile while he listened to the younger male speak. He noticed Jeremy wasn't looking at him anymore but figured that may've been the best thing for what he was sure he'd have to say in the next couple minutes.

"About?"

At the one worded question Jeremy let himself chuckle weakly. He was really gonna make him say it, wasn't he? _Bastard. _

"Damon." Dammit if Jeremy was going to be the one to say it first. Instead he called out the all of a sudden quiet vampire's name, looked straight at him, and just slightly raised one of his eyebrows.

At the look he had just received Damon let out a mild sigh and realized this was definitely going to require him to… "Share his feelings". The man may have now found a sort of soft spot for Jeremy but he still wasn't one to raise his hand and shout from the rooftops all of what he was feeling. For god sake that's what Stefan was for. But much to Damon's pride he realized that he wasn't going to be able to get out of this conversation and still have Jeremy there with him if he was going to avoid talking about it. So—Damon had a plan; say what he was feeling in as less words as possible, and by George that's what he was going to do.

"Fine." Damon breathed out calmly and looked straight ahead, away from Jeremy's brown-eyed and most attractive stare. "If you tell me—what exactly it is that's gotten you confused—then I'll try my best to answer for you."

Figuring that that was the best he was going to get Jeremy sighed quietly and looked down at his entwined fingers; something he did when he was nervous, that and biting his lip. (Which had also been what he was doing.)

"Well, uh — okay. What—is this?" He motioned between him and Damon as he parted his hands.

Apparently the two were having an ongoing battle to see which one could last the longest without actually saying what they both knew the other was thinking.

As a few seconds of silence went by for Damon to think of a response he smirked casually, looked over to Jeremy and asked, "What do you think this is?"

And that was it.

Jeremy let out a huff of air, shook his head in disappointment, and took off the covers that were draped haphazardly across his legs. Recognizing that he had gone too far Damon grabbed Jeremy's wrist before he could leave the bed altogether. "Wait don't-", Damon tried saying before Jeremy cut him off.

"Damon, if you're just going to avoid talking about it then I really think I should go; for at least my sake." The last thing he needed was to get more caught up in it than he already was and for Damon to single handedly crush it. If at least he left now then he could have maybe just a sliver of a good memory before even that got thrashed around from just a few small words.

With still his hand wrapped loosely around Jeremy's wrist Damon moved his thumb along the skin slowly as his eyes trailed their way from Jeremy's arm back up to his face. "Please don't go." Damon asked in a quiet voice.

He hated Jeremy's power over him; he hated it, hated it, hated it. Hated the way Jeremy knew how to make him…. almost — _beg._

"Okay look, this may or may not have been what you were going to say or what you're even thinking but I didn't want for this to be a onetime thing. Normally that would be more my style but — but not with you." Damon made a brief pause before he continued, eyes shut now. "And if that's not what you wanted then at least you now can say that not only did Damon Salvatore start it first, but basically begged you to stay, and you turned him down."

He then let go of Jeremy's arm, looked up at him darkly and added, "But if any of that _does _slip out of your mouth, then it won't be pretty."

While the two just stared at each other, one still was sitting on the bed and one half off of it, finally the corners of Jeremy's lips started to rise slowly.

"What made you think I'd turn you down?" He asked through his smile.

Damon's eyes shifted to Jeremy's body then back up to his eyes and smile then he grinned widely, grabbed back hold of Jeremy's arm and pulled him back sloppily into the bed with him and kissed him. As Jeremy opened his mouth in surprise by the sudden movements Damon happily took it as a cue and slipped his tongue inside to greet Jeremy's with much excitement.

The younger of the two males found his body being hoisted onto the vampire's with still their connected mouths never being separated. Thanks to Damon's strength he was swiftly straddling Damon and took to the position gratefully as it gave him room to drag down his hands from Damon's neck to his chest and down over his abs.

Damon, unlike his usual self, started smiling when he felt finger tips sneak their way into the top of his jeans and dig gently into the covered skin. Knowing exactly what he was doing, Damon leaned back, hovering his lower half off of the bed, and let Jeremy easily slip off his already unbuttoned jeans. Damon had to admit that he liked the unsubtle side he was seeing of Jeremy. He could tell that this wasn't the normal behavior portrayed by the youngest Gilbert but enjoyed watching Jeremy peer down at his growing erection and bit shyly onto his bottom lip. Damon grinned amusedly and took hold of both Jeremy's hands in a gentle but firm grip and slowly, in a smooth motion, brought them up the top of his thighs and eventually let him go as he could see that Jeremy took hold of his own actions and started trailing curiously over Damon's now intensely throbbing phallus.

With every inch that Jeremy's hands made onto Damon's erection the more power he had over the vampire. Damon would have submitted completely to Jeremy if the human had asked but Jeremy was so focused on the delicious body beneath him to even realize it. But for Jeremy it was more than just the way Damon looked; it was the way he was treating Jeremy, it was like Damon was handling Jeremy as if he were going to break if touched the wrong way. When Damon smiled up at him Jeremy couldn't help but smile back. It was _that _feeling that Jeremy had suddenly found himself addicted to.

Jeremy's hands had a talent that should be illegal. At least to Damon that's what he was thinking as he allowed his eyes to shut heavily and writhed under the touch of Jeremy's heat that was circling his cock. Jeremy's fingers wrapped themselves with a perfect grip around Damon and stroked with what Damon could tell was almost a nervous rhythm. As much as Damon was enjoying the slow pumping Jeremy was giving him he opened his eyes to look back at Jeremy and eyed closely to the younger male's lower area. He saw that Jeremy was still wearing his pants and decided to fix that immediately.

Damon lifted his hips and Jeremy stopped what he was doing to look confusingly at Damon's sudden movements.

"For some reason or another we both landed in bed with our pants on earlier." Damon said as he smirked back at Jeremy's face who was just now realizing what Damon was talking about. A normal human may not have been able to tell but Damon could see quite visibly the faint blush that had landed on Jeremy's cheeks.

Damon found Jeremy's reaction so fucking adorable that he wanted to rip the kid's pants off of him in that instant but reasoned that if he wanted this to be meaningful then rushing it would be the best way for it to feel cheap and tawdry. Damon realized that he would actually force patience onto himself if it meant that it'd make Jeremy know that he wasn't just after having sex but after having _him_.

So with a smile on his face Damon took both his hands and found the button of Jeremy's jeans and opened them effortlessly. Jeremy had to climb off of Damon to get them fully off but when done he laid back down and in less than seconds found Damon to be on top of him kissing softly on the side of his neck.

In between kisses Damon asked, "Have you ever been with a guy before?" He was actually hoping if not determining to hear a _no _come from Jeremy's lips. Damon wanted to be Jeremy's first experience with a guy and if he had it his way—his _only _experience. What could he say? Damon was just naturally possessive.

After sighing helplessly into the talent that was Damon's lips Jeremy answered without thought, "Nope. Just you."

_Music to his ears_.

Jeremy could practically feel the smirk that danced on Damon's lips as his mouth was so close to the skin of Jeremy's neck.

Damon propped himself on both hands on either side of Jeremy and looked down at him saying, "Well in that case — whatever we do is up to you." The vampire offered quietly.

Damon kissed Jeremy on the lips softly again and got close enough for Jeremy to feel comfortable in whispering what he wanted to say. He felt kind of shy in asking it but knew he wanted it but was rightfully—scared. "Does it hurt?" He asked slow and quietly.

Jeremy's tone of voice sounded like a scared cartoon character one would find off of the movie Bambi. Damon honestly felt kind of bad for Jeremy so obviously he knew what he was going to do. For Jeremy… it'd be worth it.

"I'll be the bottom." Damon said while still being near Jeremy's ear not being able to see him.

Jeremy turned to the side and asked, "Does that mean—?" He cut off just before saying it blatantly.

Damon smiled against Jeremy's neck again and looked back at Jeremy so he could see the human who had managed to be not only so adorable Damon wanted to fuck him right then and there but hot and nervous enough that Damon was more than happy to be the one fucked if it were Jeremy in the scenario. As long as Jeremy was comfortable Damon would accept the position that he rarely ever did.

While he was still on top Damon kissed downward on Jeremy's chest and stomach leaving hot trails of where his opened lips sent heat to Jeremy's skin. Jeremy leaned his head back involuntarily as Damon inched himself closer to Jeremy's erection. Finally getting to his desired destination Damon glanced back up to Jeremy only to see the human's eyes shut and a small smile on his lips. Damon palmed the front of Jeremy's thin layer of boxer briefs and stifled a low growl as he heard Jeremy moan helplessly.

With little effort Damon slid down what little amount of clothing Jeremy had on and kissed the younger male's inner thigh only being edged on by the mouthwatering noises Jeremy kept giving him. Damon extended his tongue and playfully licked lightly onto the skin that was nearest to Jeremy's erected cock and guided slowly onto his shaft. He smirked proudly when he heard Jeremy shout out his name.

"Fuck—Damon, —ooh…!"

As Jeremy still lied there with eyes shut he bit his lips with a painful pressure as he felt a hot wet pleasure surround his penis. His breathing shortened, reached a fast erratic pace and his fingers dug into the bed on either side of him as he felt Damon motion his mouth upward onto his erection and slowly sink back down allowing his cock to invade further into his throat.

"Holy… God!" Jeremy let out as he felt Damon's fangs emerge, scrape his throbbing member and felt Damon slip his penis out of his mouth and bit slowly into Jeremy's thigh. He hadn't been expecting it but oddly enough the sharp teeth sliding over his cock just high enough not to break skin had only sent his heart racing even more. Damon sucking his blood from his leg felt even better than from his neck or any other area on his body. His mouth ran dry and he just decided where his new favorite place for those fangs was.

While Damon's lethally sharp teeth sank into Jeremy's inner thigh he used one of his hands and massaged the base of Jeremy's erection. He didn't stay long enough to feed much from Jeremy not wanting to waste the hardened member that was Jeremy's penis any longer. He slicked Jeremy once again with his mouth and his tongue danced along the side of it as he with a slow pace lifted his face and crawled back up to align himself.

Even though it was a position he had only taken on less than a hand full of times Damon normally would have prepped himself a little better before taking Jeremy in but his need to feel Jeremy fill him with his length was too overwhelming. So he prepared for the invasion, placed an open mouthed kiss on the side of Jeremy's neck, rolled the two over on the large king sized bed and Jeremy kissed him back before thrusting inside of Damon.

Jeremy stopped all movement when he heard the hiss escape from Damon's lips.

"Are you okay?" Jeremy asked worried.

Being that he was a vampire the pain subsided in almost seconds leaving him to feel the pleasure that the pressure of Jeremy being inside of him was exerting. He looked up into Jeremy's dark eyes, smiled and said, "I'm a vampire, kid; we heal pretty quickly."

And with that said Jeremy weakly smiled back before kissing Damon once more and buried himself deeper into what felt like scorching tightness. Jeremy was honest when he had said that he'd never been with another male before so the feeling of the whole experience hit him in waves of erotic pleasure. The muscles he felt beneath him, the strong hands digging their way into his back, and the hard cock pressing against him all came together and caused a massive need for that moment to last as long as it could.

But while it was Jeremy's first time he wasn't experienced in what to do as being on top so in the midst of sliding himself outward and burying in deeper he trailed downward to Damon's erection and with a rhythm that eventually found perfection he tugged and stroked Damon with a pressure he knew himself enjoyed. By the noises and endless gasps coming from Damon he had guessed that he was doing something right.

With now being even more relaxed Damon's legs wrapped around the waist of Jeremy's body above him and clung on as Jeremy sucked his neck and sped up his pace managing to hit the spot in Damon that the vampire didn't even know Jeremy knew about. Maybe the human didn't and was just lucky at what he was doing but Damon couldn't have cared less as his whole body ached for more of it. He knew that if Jeremy kept going at the same rate he wasn't going to last much longer. And when the surprisingly strong human licked and bit onto Damon's shoulder the vampire released the result of his orgasm and dug his heels into Jeremy's calves.

As Jeremy's body felt like it was being wrapped around by an anaconda because of Damon it was only a matter of moments before followed. Jeremy ducked and nuzzled his face into the crook of Damon's neck before he sank in one more time into Damon's heat before being consumed by the orgasmic haze of coming.

The room was filled with the aftermath of sighs, moaning, long kisses, and the sound of Jeremy's body falling against Damon's.

**7**

_Every time I look at that word "phallus" I still giggle. Sure hope that means penis and not something  
gross…like vagina.  
It was 4:50 in the morning when I wrote the sex scene; let's just say that the usage of a condom was implied. Thoughts?_


	8. Eight

_**To the reviewers, readers, and everyone who has put a favorites or an alert on this story: **(Basically to anyone reading!)__  
You know you're amazing, right?_

**8**

Since every bedroom in the boarding house has dark curtains to block out the sun's rays from peering into the sleeping residents Damon wasn't awoken by the brightness; instead he woke up at around 8:30 in the morning to the warmth of Jeremy's body almost completely around himself. He opened his eyes to see Jeremy's arm draped across his chest, Jeremy's leg between both of his, and the two of them practically sharing a pillow. Damon was never one to favor sleeping so close to someone but somehow it being Jeremy made the closeness not just bearable but—preferable.

Damon saw that Jeremy was still sleeping so did his best to disentangle himself from the heat of the body practically on top of him and left through the bedroom door quietly.

Meanwhile, and little to Damon's knowledge, Stefan Salvatore, the brother of the aforementioned Vampire, decided to walk to the boarding house from the Gilbert's after spending the night with Elena. Instead of him "deciding" to take the walk, it was more like Stefan didn't have a choice since Elena picked him up from his place and he didn't feel like dragging her out just to drop him off when he could be back at his place in matter of a few minutes. So as he got nearer and nearer to the boarding house he was able to smell something. His senses were almost alarmed when what he smelled was not only familiar but the scent of his girlfriend's little brother, Jeremy. However, that wasn't the alarming thing to Stefan; the surprising smell that adorned the youngest Gilbert was… _sex._

All the way from outside the smell of Jeremy, sex, and Damon Salvatore was thick and was almost too easy to be picked up by the younger Salvatore sibling.

_What the hell? _Thought the vampire as he climbed the steps, opened the door, and crossed the entrance.

The only logical reason for why Damon didn't hear sooner the presence of his younger brother was that he was too distracted by the memories of last night to even notice that Stefan was standing in the living room eying his brother. In the room with the fireplace and couch that both Damon and Jeremy slept on individually earlier consisted of a shirtless Damon, an apparently shocked Stefan, and the obvious common knowledge that the two weren't alone inside the boarding house.

"Damon- is there—is there something you want to tell me?" Stefan asked almost incredulously.

The older of the two vampires looked at his brother who he couldn't exactly read; Stefan's facial expression was something somewhere in between that of shock, anger, and… disappointed? Obviously Damon's gotten very good at being able to seek out the look of disappointment on his brother's face but at a time like this disappointment would be one of the emotions he'd least expect from Stefan. Or maybe—Stefan was disappointed in that he currently thinks Damon had done something _bad _to the youngest Gilbert.

With a look of innocence Damon asks, "What do you mean, brother?"

All that is necessary for Stefan to do is raise his eyebrows in a look that clearly says, "_You can't lie to me, I've been your brother for too long not to know when you're full of it. Explain the human._" So in response, Damon heaves a sigh that could either be passed as annoyed or in the mood for humoring his paranoid brother and sits down onto the couch in preparation to smooth out the overly concerned wrinkled forehead that is of Stefan's face when he worries too much.

"Relax little brother, he's perfectly okay." Damon smiled after knowing that Jeremy really was indeed okay, hell he was _better _than okay. "He's sleeping in a guest room right now." He adds casually.

Stefan clears his throat in frustration still wanting a better explanation.

"Okay, and _what _is he doing here? And what did you _do_, Damon?" He asked more apprehensive than angry.

Damon smirked and looked to his younger brother.

Immediately Stefan regretted the way he worded his last question and broke the silence, "Oh my god, all right, all right, forget that. – No …dammit Damon! What the hell is he doing here? And does Elena know about this? You do realize that if there is even so much as a scratch on him Elena will see to it that you get a stake right through the chest if she thinks that you had anything to do with it. God, really Damon? Really? Of all people, you just had to go around manipulating the—."

Just like that Damon cut him off, clearly pissed.

"Who the hell said anything about _manipulating_?" Damon let the annoyance shine brightly in his voice.

"I don't know exactly what you're thinking right now Stefan but I didn't manipulate Jeremy. If you "inspect" his wrist, you'll see that his cute little vervain tainted bracelet is still securely around it. Which it beats me how it didn't burn the shit out of me last night but never felt it even when…" Damon realized he was getting off topic.

"So no Stefan, I didn't play the big bad vampire last night; didn't force anyone to do what they didn't want to."

Knowing that he obviously struck a nerve with his brother Stefan took Damon's word.

"Fine. But why him, Damon? It's just going to blow up in your face sooner or later."

Still not liking what his brother was saying Damon quickly went from annoyed and pissed to done with their conversation altogether. But before he got up from the couch, "Not that it's any of your business little brother but I happen to like Jeremy. Pretty sure it's not going to '_blow up_' in my face." He said with venom, purposefully.

As Damon was getting up off of the couch to stand, the realization hit Stefan completely. He should've seen it sooner, known that something like this was going to happen, and better be glad that nothing worse occurred. Stefan looked carefully at his brother's face before speaking, "Damon is this about Rose?"

_Ut-oh._

Damon had already had enough of Stefan's accusations but really wasn't prepared for that one.

"What does Rose have anything to do with—anything?" He asked as he glared at Stefan's forehead that surprisingly still held its bunched up texture. He had better be glad that he was a vampire because if not Stefan would've aged as if he were sixty by the time he ever hit 25.

"Damon—I know that you cared about her and I know that—well, it makes sense if what you had to do affected you. But that doesn't mean _Jeremy, _Damon. You could've come to me." Stefan offered sincerely.

"Stefan, relax. Okay, so Jeremy is here, so you know our dirty little secret, which tells you nothing except for that you know he's here, sleeping, and that we—had a good time last night. " Damon grinned devilishly as if he knew a secret that Stefan was just dying to get in on. And for good measure Damon added, "And as I said earlier, while this has _absolutely nothing _to do with you, you worrying about Jeremy will do you no good because I like him, wouldn't do anything to hurt him; ...just the opposite."

Before Stefan had a chance to respond a sleepy and very _shirtless _Jeremy walked to the top of the stairs and asked, "Is everything okay?"

Not actually meaning to, but just the same, Stefan's eyes trailed the naked torso standing in front of him. He noticed that Jeremy was more ripped than he had thought, while the kid wasn't bulky he was pretty damned toned and was cut like a diamond. _Oh, dear lord._

"Yup." Damon answered happily to the boy who looked to have been waking up fully as he stretched his body showing more skin where his jeans hung on him loosely. "Just telling Stefan that you crashed in one of the guest rooms for the night because you didn't want to wake up Jenna."

"Oh no, Jenna. Damn, I need to get going before she sends out a S.W.A.T team or something. _Fuck _and my phone died." He said while holding it in his hands. He went back to his room to grab his shirt, (He had already slipped his jeans on before leaving the room the first time knowing that Stefan was there).

"Do you want me to give you a ride?" Damon asked, grinning to Jeremy as the human rushed back downstairs.

Jeremy obviously got the under tone of that question because he let out a little laugh as his cheeks turned a reddish blush color. "Nah, it'll be okay. I can just take the shortcut, be there in half the time. Maybe some other time, though." Jeremy gave a quick knowing smile to Damon's direction and nodded his head to Stefan in greeting before leaving the house rushing to get home before Jenna freaked out any more than what he knew was already her default. Maybe it had been rather rude of him to just leave so abruptly but he had good reason and it wasn't like either of the Salvatore brothers blamed him for it.

Instead Damon couldn't control the wide smirk that had grown on his face ever since Jeremy came out revealing himself half naked and looking all sexy to his uptight brother. "See you later, Jeremy." Drawled out a smiling Damon just as Jeremy crossed the entry way and headed outside. He poked his head back in quickly, "Bye guys." Jeremy left Damon with a huge grin and Stefan with his eyebrows raised so far they almost touched his hairline.

* * *

Yes, Jeremy indeed knew that Stefan was there when he left the guest room him and Damon shared and walked out pretending to be sleepy. He could hear the two brothers conversing amongst themselves about none other than Jeremy Gilbert himself. Do ya think the dark haired teenager was going to make much noise indicating he was awake before he heard enough of the conversation? Hell no! Jeremy stayed his rump in bed and was thankful that every time Stefan would raise his voice in frustration with Damon's coyness Damon would equally if not raise his even more with his annoyance leaving for Jeremy to hear the whole thing. He was surprised when he heard Stefan sound as concerned as he did but remembered that he had a point about what he said about Elena; she'd personally (if she could) stake Damon if ever she thought the vampire hurt Jeremy.

Jeremy was also glad when he heard Damon say not just once but twice that he liked the human in question. Of course there was always the possibility of Damon just saying that to get Stefan off of his back but nonetheless, Jeremy was pretty confident in knowing that Damon had meant all of what he said last night before they… well, "got togetha". The only thing now that the human was curious about was what it meant for the two of them now. It wasn't as if he were in love with Damon. Although Jeremy had never felt for anyone the way he did for Damon. Not Vickie, Anna, or even Bonnie; _especially _**not** Bonnie. Jeremy had even had his first guy-crush of whom he was shamefully hung up on in more ways than he'd like to remember and even _those_ feelings didn't come close to the ones he was experiencing now. Maybe it was the fact that with Damon came mystery, danger, fangs, and just the whole idea that he being with Damon was more implausible than anything else. Or—and this was a big one—Jeremy liked the idea that he was able to be there for Damon and stopped him from hurting that girl, that Damon actually _needed _Jeremy, maybe the human had some sort of… effect on the vampire?

The whole way from the boardinghouse to his home Jeremy spent the walk thinking about it and what it all meant but was immediately knocked out of his train of thought when he got close enough to his house to see a large van and—Tyler Lockwood in the front lawn? Carrying things?

_Yup, _as Jeremy got close enough to see perfectly Tyler was definitely lugging things from a dark colored van and into Jeremy's house.

"Jeremy, could you help Tyler with the rest of the antiques from in the vehicle? He's almost done and with your help it'll go so much faster." Said his aunt as she leaned out of the door way for Jeremy to see her and grinned her _please-do-me-a-favor _smile.

"Yeah sure. No problem, Aunt Jenna." He replied almost a little shell shocked. Where was the yelling? The furious tone of voice? Warning and death threatening glare that Jenna was freakishly good at? Had she not noticed that Jeremy was just pretty much doing his walk of shame while wearing the same clothes he left in from the night before? From the way it was going if she didn't bring it up Jeremy sure wasn't.

"Hey man. There's really only a few more things left in the back and they aren't that heavy." Tyler said as he lugged out an old vase and carried it inside.

Jeremy looked in the van and eyed what was left, "Sure, no problem. What's all of this stuff anyway?" He asked as he came back to the front door with an old wooden and gold side table with a battered top and legs. It was one of those pieces where every flaw it contained just made it that much more appealing, sort of like Damon in a way.

"Your Aunt Jenna wanted to host the latest charity event and with that came all of these antiques that my mom managed to get. They're gonna auction them all off and the money goes for—um, something… less fortunate, I guess?" Tyler chuckled weakly, "I forget, there's like 3 charities going on every month it's hard to keep track of 'em all."

As Tyler semi-jogged back to the van his muscles were moving effortlessly showing off greatly as the brightness of the sun shone off of his skin. Yeah, Tyler was crazy enough to be shirtless while it wasn't really cold anymore it definitely wasn't warm enough for that either. Jeremy remembered though that werewolves usually ran hotter than humans so it probably didn't bother Tyler; especially since from looking at the shirt that was lying on the couch was long sleeved Jeremy didn't blame him. Nice view, though.

After both boys finished unloading the van's contents into the living and dining room Tyler pulled back on his navy blue long sleeved shirt that subtly hugged against his abs and broad shoulders.

"Thanks man for helpin' out. Mom _was _here about an hour ago but left for some 'meeting' she said." That caused a soft laugh from Tyler as he situated his top and started heading his way to the front door again.

"No it was nothing, uh did you want some water or something? If you've been here for over an hour doin' all that you must be thirsty." The younger of the two males offered as he opened the fridge door reached for a bottle of water.

"Sure. Yeah, water's good, thanks." Tyler replied as he plopped down onto the couch exhaustedly and shut his eyes.

Jeremy couldn't stop himself from laughing quietly when he turned around at the sound of the apparently tired body hitting the couch and a low sigh escaping from Tyler's lips. Jeremy had an extra bottle in his hand and handed it to Tyler who must've known Jeremy was right there because without opening his eyes he accepted the water and still without looking he unscrewed the bottle and chugged the water.

"Wow, you okay?" Jeremy asked as he smiled at Tyler's slumped position and how he gulped over half of the water in one go. Jeremy sat beside Tyler on the other end of the couch and kicked his shoes off.

After Tyler sighed once more he eventually opened his eyes and glanced from the corners of them to look at Jeremy as he smiled back to the dark haired teenager. "Yup, just tired," he finished off the rest of the bottle before chuckling to himself and adding, "and thirsty."

"Well you can hang out here if you want." Jeremy said as he leaned over the arm rest and reached for one of the plastic guitars that had been leaning against its spot on the wall. Tyler opened his eyes again and caught onto what Jeremy was doing. Tyler was a master at Guitar Hero so he said yes to staying for a while and accepted the differently colored guitar that Jeremy handed to him and the two stretched out on the couch and played until both lost the track of time. Surprisingly Jenna must've disappeared off to nowhere land because it was hours before she reappeared again while the two males battled it out for bragging rights.

**8**

_Can you guess the approaching storyline?__  
The odd sudden friendship between Jyler really isn't odd for them because they've both reached an understanding that the other one is actually not so bad to hang with. Or at least that's how it is in my head! Let's just go with it, it's more fun that way. _:)


	9. Nine

**9**

Ra Ra Riot's _Too, too, too Fast _blared through the house as Damon danced in the living room. He was looking at his reflection in the mirror that he'd rolled from out of Stefan's bedroom and carried downstairs. He was dressing himself up nicely that day and listened to one of his guilty pleasures. He'd never tell anyone but lately he had found himself listening to the band Ra Ra Riot every time he was in the process of selecting his outfits and dressing for the day. It was something about the fast paced music that he really liked while staring shamelessly at himself when no one was looking.

(Hell he'd stare at himself _if _people were looking, he didn't care—he was gorgeous!)

His final choices were that of darkly washed jeans, black form-fitting button down collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up at quarter length, and a pair of black shoes that went with everything. Yes, he was looking good.

Damon may not have been as dance-y to his favorite morning music as he normally was but he was still jiving enough to cause the little blonde vampire to break out in a fit of giggles as she saw Damon mouth honestly every word to the song right on cue and shuffled his feet with the music.

Caroline was standing in the entrance of the boarding house staring at Damon's now stiff body and hard, warning scowl. He stopped fiddling with his clothes deciding that they were as perfect as they were going to get, stopped the music, and continued his glare to the vampire who had just broken into his house.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you that trespassing is a crime?" Damon asked flatly as he pushed the rolling mirror against the wall of the living room.

"Well, I'll be damned; Damon Salvatore has got some moves. Oh don't stop on my account, go ahead. Cut some carpet ya little bad-ass." She was barely able to speak coherently through all of the laughter and giggling she was doing.

"Remind me why I haven't killed you yet?" The much older vampire asked. He wasn't as mad now knowing that Caroline knew better then to tell anyone what she just saw Damon doing and to what he was doing it _to_. If all the annoying baby vampire was going to do was laugh then he'd let her continue on for a few more minutes but after that snarl at her to shut her up.

"Because deep, _deeeeeep_ down somewhere in there you know you love me. But it's okay, save the time for when you admit it to me for when there's something like dramatic going to happen." She finally said once her laughing stopped. Caroline walked over to where Damon kept his liquor and poured herself a glass of whatever she could handle the taste of.

Well Damon didn't deny what she said and to be honest that kind of surprised Caroline, Damon too even.

"So do you _always_ dance like that to music when you're checkin' yourself out in the mirror?" She teased as she gulped down the bitter taste of the clear liquid.

"Do you always enter in places where you aren't welcome?" He responded with a fake bitterness.

"Well I could hear the loud music coming from this particular house so obviously I had to check it out; definitely didn't expect _you_ to be the one dancing to it though, but must say, it's a nice surprise to your usual "must be intimidating" attitude." She said with a bright smile.

Damon half listened to her as he strolled over to the bar and poured him a glass of scotch. You may be thinking what the hell are these two doing drinking so early in the morning but since they were vampires alcohol didn't have quite the same effect on them as it did to humans; the consumption of it helped their hunger and they'd have to drink much more than a human would have to for it to intoxicate them. Plus Damon just always loved to hold a glass of liquor in it.

"I _was _over at Elena's house but she was out with Stefan _again _and Jeremy was with Tyler so I was on my way back from there and passed this place in my direction." Caroline said before tipping the glass completely over and hovered it above her mouth to catch the last droplets of alcohol.

"You said he was with _Tyler_?" Damon said with both surprise and something on the verge of anger in his voice.

"Yup. Apparently Tyler crashed there last night and when I got there he was in the shower while Jeremy and I talked until he came out..." she paused and grinned to herself like she knew something Damon didn't. Of course Damon asked,

"What?" His voice thick with curiosity and now jealousy. Tyler was spending the night with Jeremy? The night after Damon let the kid _fuck _him? Oh that wasn't acceptable, not at all.

"Well it's just that when Tyler came out of the shower apparently he didn't know I was walking by because when he opened the door all he was wearing was a towel wrapped around his waist and I guess I surprised him because when he _did_ notice that I was there he jumped back so hard that his towel slipped and let me tell you…" she paused again and this time shut her eyes. "The kid's gifted." Caroline grinned again.

If the glass was still in Damon's hand he would've broken it into pieces with the way his fists were clenched. "Are you telling me that Tyler stayed with Jeremy, took a _shower _there, came out half naked with a towel on, and it _slipped_ for you to see his dick?" He didn't bother masking the anger and apparent jealousy in his voice.

Caroline, now checking _herself _out in the full length mirror didn't really notice the sudden edge that Damon's voice had taken. She heard him get a little angsty but just figured it was because she was using his precious little mirror.

Still looking at herself and now applying make-up she spoke again. "Oh and that's not even the half of it. After I saw Tyler strolling out of the restroom wearing nothing but a towel I kind of gasped at the sight of it and so Jeremy got up to see what I was looking at and right when he got in full view… well he got a view all right." She laughed again, apparently finding herself to be downright hilarious.

And in any other situation Damon would find it a bit of a funny story but for obvious reasons he was livid. Who the hell walks out of the bathroom, in a house that isn't even theirs, pretty much naked? And the whole "the towel slipped" routine? _Fuck that bullshit._ That damn Lockwood flashed Jeremy his fucking dick.

Damon looked at the young vampire who now, from God only knows where, had taken out a bottle of hair spray and started applying it to her golden hair. He didn't like the way he was starting to feel. Jealousy was never his best emotion yet now it was something more; Damon was territorial. He was territorial and greedy when it came to the things he wanted and he'd learned from a few nights ago that what he wanted was Jeremy Gilbert, not for a few rounds in the bed or for a few meals but he wanted all of him. No one was allowed to touch the things he wanted.

**9**

After Caroline was drained of all gossip that she could possibly unload onto the seething vampire she left the boardinghouse to go find Matt or someone. Damon wasn't really paying attention at the moment of what she said her plans were. All he was concerned about was what he was going to do about his little _mutt _problem.

**9**

Ten minutes later Damon was standing on Jeremy Gilbert's doorsteps. It was 11:00 in the morning on a Saturday and where was he? Ringing a doorbell and listening carefully into the house in front of him trying to hear any voices that didn't belong. The old Damon hidden in the back of his mind was scoffing at his ridiculousness. While he didn't hear the particular voice he was listening to inside of the house there was at least one thing that Damon couldn't stand. The _smell. _The house wreaked of an unfamiliar scent of which Damon was guessing was Lockwood's.

But as far as Damon could hear there was only one person in the house. _Jeremy._

The front door opened and out came Jeremy with a surprised smile on his face.

"Damon— Hi. Uh, do you want to come in?" The young human asked eagerly as he stepped aside for the vampire who didn't wait for the invitation but instead was already inside the house before Jeremy could finish asking him in.

Damon walked inside and started sniffing the air around him. He was going to puke.

"I'm glad you're here." Jeremy smiled as he shut the front door and followed to where ever Damon was walking to.

Without asking why Jeremy was happy to see him, which should've made the vampire happy anyways, Damon instead responded with a question. "Was Tyler here?"

Damon turned around to meet Jeremy's eyes and saw that the human was taken aback by the sudden turn of conversation. Was that the face of guilt?

It wasn't like Damon had asked in a pissed off voice but still a tone that was more attentive than he had when him and Jeremy were together that other night.

"Uh — yeah. Yeah he was… he was here." Jeremy said with hesitance and a slight stammer, although he wasn't sure why.

The younger of the two males could tell the difference in the way Damon was acting and he was hoping that his suspicions were correct. _Was Damon jealous? _Okay, it's probably weird to want someone like Damon to be jealous but that tells Jeremy that the vampire likes him as much as the human does for Damon; which Jeremy was glad for. Plus Damon was acting pretty damn adorable at the moment. Until…

"Are you leaving?" Jeremy asked as the vampire headed for the front door.

"Yup." The vampire answered monotonously with still heading in the direction of the front door never looking back.

Jeremy was left dumb struck. Did he actually do something _wrong?_

"Well—where are you going?" The teenager asked before Damon opened the door completely.

"Nowhere important." Damon responded again, annoyance seeping from his voice.

"Are you mad about Tyler being here?" He asked nervously. Jeremy grabbed Damon's arm tugging him gently back into the living room.

Damon shut the door quietly before turning to face Jeremy with his face showing hardly any emotion. "Why should I be? You don't belong to me. You're free for the taking kid." He retorted casually, swiftly gaining his composure again. Although the very words felt like poison coming up from his throat and out into the room.

Jeremy's eyes finally met Damon's and the vampire could see the affect his words really had on the human. His big dark-colored eyes took the shape of a sad puppy's and his bottom lip was being chewed between his teeth sullenly.

And suddenly Jeremy inadvertently had accomplished something. Without even trying he made Damon realize just how much of a dick he was in case he didn't already know.

"Do you really mean that?" Asked Jeremy after he let the words sink in fully and swallowed down the hurt they inflicted. He knew he must've looked like a total girl at the moment but damn—those words stung.

Still not forgetting the reason he acted like a bastard in the first place, Damon resisted the urge to grab Jeremy in a hug but instead said, "Why did he sleep over?" The difference was Damon's voice; spoken softer than before with less venom and in a tone that sounded more hurt than anything else. Yes, he felt guilty as hell for that _sad as a tragedy_ face that Jeremy had just showed him, knowing that he was the one who caused it.

Just as Jeremy was going to answer him it was as if he had reached an epiphany all of a sudden.

"If I'm apparently up for the taking and don't belong to you then why do you care?" It was _his_ turn to be pissed.  
Damon was baffled.

**9**

_I know, I left it at an incredibly horrible place and I should totally be punished for such the long gap in updates but I've gotten this chapter stuck at that part for so long now and I don't know where to go from there.  
Anybody have anything they'd love to see?  
Please tell me what you thought about this chapter, I'm undecided on it…_


	10. Ten

_To those of you who are still reading and reviewing, I am so grateful. Reviews go such a long way for me, you guys have no idea.  
Warning: Smut..._

**10**

_Tyler Lockwood_

The young werewolf had gotten back from Jeremy's house a little while ago and was currently dressing for an event that was to be had later that night hosted by his mother and the new Mayor, Carol Lockwood. The reason for events, like charities, had come to slip Tyler's mind lately. All he knew was that his home was being opened to so many parties recently that it seemed like he spent more time in a suit than in his normal (and very comfortable) street clothes. He knew one thing for sure though; Jeremy was going to be there.

Yes, Jeremy Gilbert's presence that night would make the effort of dressing up for his mother's party very worthwhile. Tyler couldn't explain it. Maybe it had to do with the way that Jeremy was growing up all of a sudden. Obviously the truce that they had both decided on was a major factor in things but the main reason Tyler was starting to feel differently for the youngest Gilbert was the new way he started seeing him. Tyler started to notice all of the details about Jeremy.

The hue of his dark eyes, the shade of brown that his hair took when he was in the sunlight, even Jeremy's voice started to have a permanent spot in the werewolf's memory. At first Tyler passed off all of the things he was noticing as the occurrence of Jeremy's presence, with the town being as small as it was it wasn't abnormal to see generally the same people often and in close proximity. Then something strange happened. When the moments came that Tyler _didn't _see Jeremy he started to seek out for them. It all started innocently enough. Tyler knew which lunch period Jeremy had and it conveniently was the same time that some of his friends had lunch as well so whenever his teacher wasn't really busy in teaching Tyler would make some excuse to go where everyone was eating; the fact that Jeremy ate so close to where Tyler _happened _to run into his teammates was just a coincidence. Then it started to progress into something that Tyler eventually had to deal with. Either he becoming a werewolf messed up his personality in a way that he started to become obsessed about certain things or that maybe it was just Jeremy that had grabbed his obsession.

Tyler didn't worry about his orientation being an issue. He always knew that he was attracted to girls but also was aware that when he saw an attractive guy, his body wouldn't let him forget it… so to speak. The only thing that could've arose a problem for Tyler was that the particular person that he found himself fixated on was the same person that he spent so much time pretty much bullying for so long; he knew that he and Jeremy had squashed the bitterness and rivalry between each other but they still weren't exactly close enough for Tyler's desires to ever even have a chance.

So that's why Tyler took the perfect opportunity that, easily enough, just fell into his lap. When Carol Lockwood said that she hired multiple movers to take the antiques for the auction to the Gilbert's place Tyler casually told her that she'd save money if she just had him take the things over himself—which she thought was a splendid idea. At first Tyler was convinced that the whole thing was a bust and for nothing when he got to Jeremy's house to find that the youngest Gilbert was nowhere to be found. At the end however, he was relieved when he could smell the scent of Jeremy coming towards him. Even more so that Jeremy had picked the perfect time to arrive just as Tyler was shirtless...

Then it became less of a scheme to get close to Jeremy and more of a time that Tyler actually found himself enjoying. Of course Tyler had to practically station himself on the couch to have an excuse to stay longer once all of the work was finished but he was actually surprised when Jeremy had extended his invitation even further by the two of them playing Guitar Hero for the rest of the day.

The werewolf still wondered if Jeremy ever noticed how close they had "accidentally" gotten on the couch from between the time that they first sat down to the end where they were both laying there half a sleep and half conscious. He didn't even plan for him to have stayed the night but once Jeremy had turned off the game he just randomly asked Tyler if he wanted to crash for the night and like a kid on Christmas morning Tyler happily accepted. Though after a while it seemed like a colossal mistake whenever the night found the two of them sleeping in Jeremy's bedroom... together. Platonically, of course; which was the hardest damn thing in the world for Tyler not to reach out and take the boy next to him. He had slept in the same bed with Matt before countless times so Tyler knew that it wasn't really a big deal but with Jeremy it was the biggest temptation he'd ever had.

Soon morning came and obviously Tyler had to take a shower, in the downstairs bathroom of course. While he knew that Caroline was already in the house he acted surprised when the blond vampire walked by the "accidentally" open bathroom door and Tyler conveniently let his towel drop to the ground whenever Jeremy came into plain view to see what had startled Caroline. It was nothing that Tyler could have actually planned for since it happened so fast but he couldn't deny the fact that he could've kept his towel from falling off of his waist if he _really _wanted to. He didn't really care that Caroline had seen him, hell he knew he had a nice body and he knew that Jeremy definitely saw so as well. So Tyler wrapped the whole thing up as a victory. Then after Caroline left, Tyler asked Jeremy if he wanted to come to the party that his mother was throwing and thankfully Jeremy agreed.

Thus explains why Tyler was being so meticulous in his looks at the moment and with a smile on his face.

_Jeremy Gilbert_

He couldn't believe Damon had just talked to him that way. Said that Jeremy wasn't his and that worse of all he was "free for the taking." What the hell does that even mean? The Damon he was with _not too long ago _wouldn't ever had said anything like that; hell Jeremy would've been less surprised if Damon had said something closer to, "you're mine and no one else's" before ever saying "free for the taking".

Then it all hit Jeremy. Maybe the night he spent with Damon didn't even mean anything or matter at all; it made perfectly good sense now, Damon just fed him a bunch of sorry ass lines for an opportunity to get laid. There was venom and bitterness in Jeremy's voice when he had asked his question.

"If I'm apparently up for the taking and don't belong to you then why do you care?" He had a right to be pissed; even though his emotions were more along the lines of hurt than anything else.

Damon honestly was baffled. He didn't know what to say to Jeremy. A part of him still felt like he had a very good reason for being pissed with Jeremy and then all of a sudden it's Damon who should be worrying about whether or not _Jeremy _forgives _him, _so really, what was he supposed to do?

"Jeremy I—",

"You can leave now." Jeremy interrupted.

The surprise was evident on the vampire's face. "What?" He asked, emotions torn between disappointment and anger.

"Well that's what you were going to do before, right? Interrogate me and leave? Well the interrogation is over so you can go now." The human demanded as he walked his way to the staircase; far from the urge to letting a tear slip from his eyes, no he was way passed that—he was pissed and he'll be damned before he let Damon get a reaction out of him that's anything less than how he feels at the moment, anger.

In the time it takes to blink Damon was holding Jeremy's arm as one of Jeremy's legs was climbing the first step. He was now at a level taller than Damon and he scowled down at the vampire who was clutching his arm tighter than what Damon had intended.

"Let go of me, Damon." He said flatly.

"I shouldn't have said that. Do you really think I'd come all the way over here if that's how I felt?" Damon asked as he loosened his grip but still was touching Jeremy.

Jeremy continued to climb the stairs slowly only for Damon to follow him inch by inch. "Then why'd you say it?" He asked, his head turned toward Damon but body still walking upward.

"Why did Tyler stay over last night?" He countered, avoiding in chance of him talking too emotionally.

"How do you even know that he did?" Jeremy asked, with more attitude than maybe was necessary but he didn't care, Damon had no right to pry anymore.

"Because I can smell him all over you, Jeremy!" Damon raised his voice.

Jeremy fell quiet. He stared into Damon's eyes and while he definitely wasn't feeling guilt he started to think over again if Damon would actually act as jealous as he was if he really had meant what he just said. Either way the fact that the words came so easy to him is unsettling, something that still pissed Jeremy off.

Wondering how far it could be pushed Jeremy leaned in a fraction of an inch closer and said plainly, "What. Do you. Care?"

His breathing stopped, Jeremy's did. As he felt Damon's hold on his arm tighten again and felt his body being pulled closer to Damon and the vampire's lips meeting his in a hard kiss. A kiss still with the ability to make Jeremy's knees weak and his body to feel like it was going to melt away if Damon stopped or let him go.

As soon as Damon kissed Jeremy their mouths had opened. The vampire bit onto the younger male's lower lip and sucked softly. At this point Damon had Jeremy facing him completely and his hands were roaming over Jeremy's body searching for something to hold onto, something to pull the human's heat closer. His hands landed on Jeremy's hips, their middles grinding into each other. Both males could feel the growing lengths between them. The kiss had slowed down some and wasn't as rough as before. Damon guided Jeremy up the rest of the stairs, Jeremy walking backward blindly trusting Damon's direction still kissing his lips hungrily.

Soon the two of them reached the top still connected by the other's warm and soft mouth. Damon opened the door of Jeremy's room effortlessly without ever breaking apart from Jeremy. He laid them both down onto Jeremy's bed and quickly went to his neck. He sucked on the skin there; he nipped lightly with his teeth and licked the marks that would soon be placed on Jeremy; _marking _him for the world to see.

He swiped his tongue up the length of Jeremy's throat, feeling the warmth and blood flow from underneath the skin. His actions caused Jeremy to moan deeply and buck his hips upward into Damon's erection. The vampire felt the pressure and friction causing him to growl from a low place in his throat. He kissed Jeremy's mouth once more before tearing off his shirt. Damon hovered over the body under his and kissed imploringly down Jeremy's chest. He could feel the hands of his human come up slowly and land on the back of his neck.

Once Damon was satisfied from kissing and sucking Jeremy's torso he inched back up and met Jeremy's pleading lips with another kiss. Jeremy lifted his legs and wrapped them around Damon. The vampire removed his own shirt and tossed it away. Both hands were planted on either side of Jeremy as the two of them kissed, neither fighting for dominance but a kiss that felt more heated and fervent.

Damon's hands traveled down Jeremy's sides and landed on his belt buckle. He opened and removed the unwanted garment and unbuttoned Jeremy's jeans. He slid down the zipper and pushed them as far as they'd go while Jeremy's legs were still clinging on to him. With a groan and whimper Jeremy released Damon's body long enough for the vampire to slide off his jeans and throw them to the side with his belt.

After Jeremy was left in nothing but his boxers he grasped the back of Damon's neck again and pulled him down to continue kissing him. Damon complied happily letting Jeremy take control for as long as he wanted. He let the human claw at his bare back, he let Jeremy buck up for their cocks to meet and rub against each other. He even let Jeremy bite onto his shoulder and suck his skin from there to his neck. He knew the marks wouldn't last long but knowing that it was Jeremy to mark him made him crave more of the human.

Jeremy started undoing Damon's jeans. He dipped his fingers under Damon's boxers and pants and slid them down for Damon to pull them off completely.

"You can do it." Jeremy whispered in Damon's ear. They both knew what he meant. Jeremy finally added, "The drawer."

While both were now rid of their clothes Damon searched in the drawer near the bed that Jeremy was talking about and easily grab the lube and one of the condoms that was in there.

He growled at the fact that Jeremy just so conveniently had the bottle in the first place.

It was as if Jeremy could read the vampire's mind, after Jeremy could feel and hear the man above him growling angrily he looked up at Damon and smiled almost innocently. "Relax, Damon; you're the only reason I have that." Which was true. He had never needed it with Vicki.

Jeremy almost expected a smirk to appear on Damon's face but when Jeremy looked up at him all he saw was relief from the vampire. With a slick finger ready Damon asked,

"You sure?" His answer came from the finger tips digging in his back and Jeremy's legs spreading wider and wrapping themselves around his body again.

Damon kissed him softly on his lips before he slowly pushed his index finger inside of Jeremy. The hiss he heard made Damon want to remove it immediately. He could hear Jeremy's breathing quicken and nails to scratch onto his back knowing that Jeremy was in pain. "Do you need to me to stop?" Damon asked as he kissed Jeremy's neck comfortingly.

"No, no it's fine." Jeremy answered.

To soothe Jeremy as much as he could, with his other hand Damon grabbed Jeremy's erected cock and pumped it slowly, as he heard the moans coming from Jeremy's mouth he inserted a second finger. Damon kissed Jeremy on the mouth again and was glad that Jeremy didn't seem like it had pained him.

Damon worked Jeremy open as gently as he could while Jeremy kissed him back eagerly.

When Damon thought Jeremy was ready he extracted from Jeremy's entrance hating the sound that came from Jeremy. "Tell me when you're ready." The vampire pleaded.

Jeremy brought up his arms around Damon's neck and whispered for him to do it.

With Jeremy's legs already around him Damon sank in slowly. Jeremy bit him again on his shoulder as he felt Damon enter his tightness. "Are you okay?" Damon asked.

"Go." Was all Jeremy said to him before he started rubbing his hands softly on the scratch marks he had made onto Damon's back.

Damon braced himself with both arms and made his way deeper into Jeremy. While the older of the two males reveled in the tight heat the youngest was torn between pleasure and pain. He could feel the size of Damon inside of him and loved how it felt to have Damon on top of him; he just wanted the pain to dull.

Finally, mixed with the soft kisses Damon was dealing to him and the angle that he was at Jeremy started to feel the pleasure of him being fucked by Damon. As soon as he did Damon could tell. Among Jeremy's fast, uneven breathing and moans he could hear the human's heart beat faster and the whispered, "_faster_" in to his ear.

As much as Damon wanted to he didn't want to hurt the body beneath him. He kissed along Jeremy's neck and stayed the slow pace before finally Jeremy began to squirm.

"Fuck me, Damon." Jeremy said as he was out of breath and looked up into Damon's eyes.

The demand took over Damon's control. He slid out partly and dove back in. Jeremy's body under his began to writhe in the pressure and feel of Damon inside of him, moving with him at a rhythm that Jeremy begged for. His body started to shudder and he was getting closer and closer to the brink.

Damon started stroking Jeremy's member again in time with his thrusts. Each sigh and moan that escaped through Jeremy's mouth had edged Damon on more and more. He never thought being inside of Jeremy would feel so exquisite, that nothing would feel better, until…

"Bite me." He breathed out, struggling to keep his legs around Damon as the vampire fucked him harder to his pleasure.

Suddenly the ecstasy Jeremy was feeling had come to a stop, Damon hovered over him not moving. "You sure? Jeremy it's your first time I don't know if that'd be a good—,"

"Please?" The male under him asked. Jeremy stared up at Damon with his dark and heavy eyes and added, "I want to feel your fangs inside of me too." He paired it with a lazy smile and Damon gave in instantly. He kissed Jeremy again, his fangs came out quickly and he sank into Jeremy's neck as he continued to fuck him.

Jeremy breathlessly whispered out Damon's name as he came. He felt Damon slide out, remove his fangs, and slid back in harder than before one last time before Damon himself called out the name of his human and reached his climax.

Damon removed himself from Jeremy's body before he pulled him closer under the thick blanket. Jeremy started kissing on one of Damon's pecks and guided his hand over Damon's hard chest and stomach.

"Wow." Jeremy said, still out of breath.

As it seemed like Damon was going to fall asleep, his chest beneath Jeremy's head, he broke the silence that surrounded the room.

"I didn't mean what I said, Jeremy." He apologized quietly.

Even through his haze of just getting fucked for the first time, Jeremy still didn't forget why he was angry before. Damon's words still rang through his head and a simple apology wasn't going to suffice, even if it did seem like Damon was jealous of Tyler being there, he didn't have a right to say what he did.

"Then why'd you say it?" Jeremy asked as he propped himself up on his elbows and looked back at Damon.

Damon took in a heavy sigh and looked at Jeremy carefully.

"I was jealous." He spoke out.

Jeremy chuckled humorlessly and scooted himself back against the headboard next to Damon.

"So you say _that_?" He asked as an unconvincing smile tugged his lips.

In an effort to make up for whatever tension had entered the room Damon leaned in and kissed Jeremy deeply. Their lips molded together, it was a kiss sweeter than all of their previous ones. A kiss that was gentle but fast, sweet yet fiery. Jeremy nibbled on Damon's lip causing the vampire to smile. He pulled away and said,

"I'm a jealous _moron_?" Damon shrugged and smiled.

Forgetting specifically what they were talking about for a moment Jeremy asked,

"So you _were _jealous?" He fought the inevitable smile that crossed his face, but of course it was inevitable. Jeremy nearly grinned ear to ear, knowing now that Damon cared enough to be jealous… of _Tyler? _That was crazy; Tyler Lockwood would be the last person in the world for Damon to ever be jealous of. (Or so he thought.)

As quick as a cheetah, or even faster, Damon climbed atop of Jeremy and straddled him gracefully. "Why was he in your bed?" He maintained to leave the growl out of his voice but Damon still asked his question in a tone harsher than Jeremy preferred.

"He came over yesterday to drop off some antiques for a charity his mom and Jenna are throwing. It was a lot of work so he just hung out here for a while and by the time we were done I just thought it'd be easier for him to stay over than him driving back to the mansion. Not a big deal, Damon." Jeremy smiled easily and leaned forward kissing Damon reassuringly.

Losing his edge Damon kissed Jeremy back and ran his hands down Jeremy's naked chest. He pulled back, his brows furrowed and asked finally,

"In your _bed?_" He asked, his brow arching accusingly.

Without thinking Jeremy took off his bracelet that had been laced with vervain and placed it next to him.

"Compel me and ask me what you really want to." Jeremy demanded losing the smile that had once taken place on his now frowning and serious mouth.

Damon narrowed his eyes, knowing it'd be the end of whatever they were to each other if he'd cave in and compel Jeremy for his honesty. He didn't want that; especially not after how they were progressing, even if it was because of a fight. No, he'd just have to… trust Jeremy. Something so foreign to Damon that he really wasn't sure _how_ to trust someone again, it had always proven to be a mistake, a slap in the face too damaging for Damon to recover from; why should he do that again?

Then he looked at Jeremy's smile and could feel the human's body heat against his and how much Damon liked it, and then he knew _exactly_ why he would trust Jeremy. A part of him was starting to fall in love with the human; _his _human.

**10**

_I don't know how politics go so in this world Carol's magically the new mayor, yaaay.  
Thoughts?  
I actually REALLY love this one, I would reeeeeally love if you guys reviewed and tell me how you think the story is going so far.  
__I honestly didn't plan **anything **in this chapter & as I was re-reading it after I finished, I kind of feel bad for Tyler now... I must fix it! But how?_


	11. Eleven

Thank you so much for the kind reviews. (:  
You guys are amazing.

**11**

The night was of the Lockwood's party, the sister-event of the charity that Jeremy's aunt Jenna was throwing with Carol Lockwood. While the party was mainly being thrown to give attention to Carol and Jenna's charity, it was being held at the Lockwood mansion; meaning that it'd be at the home of _Tyler_ Lockwood. Someone that Damon still wasn't very happy about.

Call it childish, overly territorial, or senselessly jealous. Damon didn't really give a damn how he was acting. A part of him was still distrustful of the mutt's actions and that same part of him had grown even more skeptical when Jeremy announced to him that he was attending said party. Any other time Damon wouldn't care if Jeremy attended an event at the mutt's home, but Damon still wasn't too keen on the fact that he and Jeremy _slept _together in the same bed and that he also _flashed _Jeremy his dick.  
Thanks to Caroline that image still hasn't gotten out of Damon's head; which was absolutely repulsive to the vampire.

So it made sense for Damon not to be all smiles and romance as he was watching Jeremy get dressed for the fancy occasion. He was wearing a very nice black suit, tailored deliciously to fit his body perfectly. Long legs, toned torso, broad back, all for the admiration by Damon. Except now Damon was more annoyed than anything else.

"I still don't see the importance of you going to this ridiculous party."  
Damon stated as he sat on Jeremy's bed leaning against the nearest wall watching Jeremy struggle to put on his tie.

Jeremy sighed, "It's just for a few hours, if even that. And I know how much it'll mean to Jenna if I show some support for her, this party is basically recognition for the charity she's responsible for and it means a lot to her."

The vampire rolled his eyes. Yes, Jeremy's reason was a good one but the fact that there were so many charities and parties thrown in Mystic Falls was starting to get old, and fast. He could probably bet anyone that they couldn't explain to him exactly what this charity was specifically for and he'd win. But apparently Jeremy was determined to go; no matter how many times Damon heaved an annoyed sigh or rolled his bright blue eyes.

"You're cute when you pout." Jeremy said as he was still focusing on his tie and looking at Damon behind him through his mirror. He could see the smile that Damon was trying to fight off, eventually winning; among everything else Damon had a very sexy smile. Damon got up from the bed and helped Jeremy with his losing battle against the simple piece of cloth. Damon tied the garment effortlessly as he stared into Jeremy's eyes while doing so.

"I wasn't pouting." Damon finally said—his eyes now on the tie.

Jeremy gave out a light chuckle, "Whatever you say."

Damon smoothed the silk and tucked it into Jeremy's black jacket. Damon took a step back and admired the person in front of him; Jeremy really was one of those people who could turn heads, even without trying.

The younger of the two males leaned in and kissed the other, thanking him for helping. Jeremy's eyes closed and his mouth opened in a sigh as he felt Damon drag him closer by the hands on his hips. The eldest kissed the other boldly, gathering Jeremy's body against his own, his hands sliding over Jeremy's back desperately. The kiss had heated in the matter of seconds, Jeremy pushed away before a third round could be taken place in his room that day.

"Oh-okay." Jeremy stammered breathlessly as he pushed Damon back gently.  
"Elena's gonna be here any minute with Stefan, so we don't have any time for… well—", he paused, blushing as he did so. Giving Damon even more reason to be attracted to him; Jeremy wasn't bashful all of the time but when he was it couldn't be any more adorable.

Damon raised his hands innocently and stepped away from his temptation, smiling playfully.

"Speaking of which—," Damon said as he landed back on his spot on the bed.  
"Have you decided about what you're going to do about Elena?" He asked, baiting Jeremy for the answer he hoped for.

The confused teenager looked at the mirror, back at Damon, confusion clear and apparent on his face.

Damon blinked looking downward, letting out an almost silent sigh.

"Stefan knows… as you're already aware." He grinned, remembering exactly _how _Stefan found out. Still Damon loved how Jeremy came into Stefan's sight wearing nothing but his jeans the morning after his and Jeremy's first time together. The expression on Stefan's face was so priceless Damon wished he had a camera on him to keep that moment forever.

Jeremy started biting on his bottom lip ominously. "Oh—", he let out quietly.

Certainly wasn't the start of the answer Damon was hoping for. An unenthusiastic _Oh_: never a good sign.

"You gonna tell her?" Damon probed flatly.

As Jeremy's eyes met Damon's through the reflection of the mirror, almost apologetically, the vampire got his answer. They both could read the looks on each other's faces.

Jeremy turned around to face Damon. "It's just that—," he had no opportunity to finish.

"I get it Jeremy." The tone of Damon's voice unrepentant and slightly cold, succeeding the nonchalance he was going for.

Before Damon could get up from the bed Jeremy quickly jumped on him, clumsily.

"Wait. I just…" his action had halted Damon's movements.  
"She doesn't know I'm attracted to guys, i-it would shock her in more ways than one if I just came out and said exactly _who _I'm seeing before first—preparing her, I guess." He rushed out.

Damon's eyes narrowed when Jeremy made the comment about him being attracted to guy_s_, somewhere deep in his throat released a somewhat jealous and low growl when Jeremy said that he did.

Catching that he worded the first part of his sentence badly Jeremy clarified, "You know what I mean, Damon. She doesn't know that I'm not… straight. I just think that I should ease in to telling her that first then work my way into telling her about us."

As soon as the word _us _fell from Jeremy's lips Damon let go of any worry or irritation he was holding on to. Still a little impatient with the slow progress his and Jeremy's new relationship was taking but somewhere inside of him was relieved to be reassured that Jeremy was currently thinking of the two of them as two people _together_. He mentally rolled his eyes at how ridiculously "Stefan-ish" he was sounding but the fact that Jeremy was still on top of him was distracting Damon from any other thought than about the tempting and warm body that was so close to his manhood.

"Are you mad?" Jeremy asked in a quiet voice as he shifted himself more comfortably, still sitting on Damon and looking down at him. All of the movement was causing friction against Damon in a delectably enticing way.

Damon's face instantly softened and his eyes flashed upward to Jeremy's. He tilted up his head and kissed Jeremy's lips, getting caught up in the heat coming from the other male's body. Not caring that he was still wearing his suit Jeremy straddled Damon's waist and pushed Damon downward onto the bed. The vampire smiled up at his human, his eyes much brighter than from before and he gently tugged on the tie that he so professionally knotted around Jeremy's neck, lowering the male on top of him.

The two deepened their already frenzied kiss, forgetting and overall just simply not caring that Jeremy was still fully dressed and that both of their siblings really were due to arrive at any moment.

But alas, whether or not the two cared, both Elena and Stefan were right outside the front door and in just a few seconds the entrance was opened and they entered the house. While Elena tossed her keys on the coffee table and made her way into the kitchen unaware of things, Stefan knew exactly what was going on above their heads. He knew _what _was going on and between _whom_. His brow arched, partly from residual surprise that Damon and Jeremy were still getting together and also out of annoyance that neither of them were stopping what they were currently doing, even though Stefan was positive that Damon knew the two of them weren't alone anymore.

"_Damon—", heavy breathing and whimpering followed the lust-filled call of the name of Jeremy's vampire._

Stefan's eyes widened in shock, at around the same time that Damon smirked to himself, knowing his younger brother could hear them.

Stefan cleared his throat, "Elena, I'm going to go home and change for the party tonight, call me when you're ready?" He smiled to his girlfriend, who still hadn't a clue that her little brother was getting groped in his childhood bedroom.

Elena reached for a hug and a kiss from her boyfriend, "Okay, I'll see you here in a bit. Love you." She said sweetly.

As Stefan was half way out the door he returned his love just as amiably. When Elena had walked away far enough for her not to hear Stefan the vampire added, "You two better be careful, she's going up stairs now _Damon._" He warned with a harsh tone.

He wasn't doing it for Damon's benefit, but for Elena's. It'd throw her into cardiac arrest if she walked in on her younger brother while he was in the midst of whatever the hell he was doing with Damon, the king of all things sadistic and merciless; although he was anything _but _those things when he was with Jeremy.

While both Stefan and Damon were aware of the other's presence in the house Jeremy honestly wasn't. In between his moans, sighs, and heavy breathing he didn't hear the front door open and shut, nor was he aware of anyone there except for him and Damon. So it caught him by surprise when Damon muffled his groans with a deep kiss, and finally a whisper in his ear, "Elena's here."

Jeremy opened his eyes, barely hearing what Damon told him. Sadly as he was fully aware of his surroundings again his bedroom was empty. The body that he was clinging to disappeared; the heat that he was drowning in was now nonexistent. Jeremy saw that his window was open, and once again he was alone.

**11**

The night had finally arrived.

Elena was moments away from calling her date as she said she would and Jeremy was done fixing his clothes…again. Damon had loosened his tie when he pulled on it earlier and somehow Jeremy managed for it to be detached completely from his body.

"Jeremy! You ready?" Elena called from downstairs.

With her hair in loose curls, her dress the shade of pearl white, and jewels around her neck Elena looked stunning. Before she could holler the name of her younger brother again Stefan opened the front door and appeared wearing a black suit and tie the same shade of white as Elena's dress was. Matchy matchy didn't look so disgustingly cute when it came to the couple's attire, they both pulled it off rather nicely.

"Well don't you look amazing?" Elena smiled as Stefan twirled her with ease.

"You look even better." He complimented her charmingly.

As the two kissed one another Jeremy came sprinting down the steps fully dressed and ready to go.

"Is Jenna already there?" Jeremy asked as he fiddled with his tie.

"Yeah, she's helping Carol, told us to meet her there when we're ready." His sister answered. Then, as she noticed it, her stare was glued to Jeremy's neck; she saw the hickeys that marred her brother's skin; the teeth marks that were indented into his flesh. Yet Elena didn't ask about it, not wanting to start a fight just before her aunt's party. As far as she knew Jeremy wasn't seeing anyone. Was he, she wondered.

**11**

The three of them drove to the Lockwood mansion, Elena stating how nice her brother and boyfriend looked with both Jeremy and Stefan returning the compliments. While the ride was pleasant for Elena there was an awkward vibe in the car between Jeremy and Stefan. Stefan because he still couldn't get the auditory memory of his brother and Jeremy out of his mind and Jeremy because he realized after Damon left that if Damon could hear Elena and Stefan in the house then more than likely Stefan was able to hear _them. _Even though Stefan was aware of him and Damon Jeremy still wasn't comfortable in the situation, he worried that Stefan would tell Elena what he knew if he hadn't already.

So both Jeremy _and _Stefan were grateful when the three of them finally arrived to their destination. The party was being held both inside and outdoors. Carol had the entire area decorated in lights, since it was dark out the whole thing really did look gorgeous, even if it was just another party among many others for reasons that no one was really certain of.

The three of them entered the busy home, greeting Jenna by the front door.

As she was playing hostess she just gave Elena a quick hug and said for them to mingle. While Elena and Stefan wandered to find Bonnie and Caroline someone else found Jeremy.

The dark-haired werewolf smiled when he found Jeremy walking alone, the youngest Gilbert had ventured outside where there was less of a crowd.

Subtly Tyler walked outside and caught Jeremy by the arm. "Hey," he grinned brightly, trying to tone down his excitement yet it wasn't exactly working for him.

Jeremy was surprised at first, for a minute he had completely forgotten he was still on the Lockwood property. Tyler didn't miss when Jeremy's breathing quickened, ever since he triggered the curse his senses were so heightened that he couldn't believe some of the things he was able to hear and smell. The intensity of Jeremy's scent was almost addictive for Tyler. He wanted the human so badly and yet he wasn't even sure if Jeremy was even in to guys. He would just have to find out on his own, Tyler thought suddenly.

Then, something came to Tyler's attention.

"Hey Tyler." Jeremy greeted casually.

It was as if Tyler lost the ability to speak. He was bound by the jealousy that washed over him as he looked at the markings on Jeremy's neck. He saw bite marks, places where the skin had been sucked, he could see where the once pristine neck was marked and discolored. Not only was Tyler jealous, he was saddened with disappointment.

"Are you all right?" Jeremy asked, noticing the difference in Tyler.

Jeremy's voice snapped Tyler out of his haze.

"Uh—yeah, I'm… I'm good, yeah." The wolf inside of him was furious, the part of him that was human was filled with sadness; such a predicament for the young Lockwood.

"You sure?" Jeremy asked as he reached out his hand and placed it comfortingly on Tyler's arm, or what he thought was comforting. To Tyler the touch ignited something inside of him, he could feel his eyes fighting the urge to change, a golden color started to manipulate the werewolf's eyes. There've been so many times Tyler thought about how a touch from Jeremy would feel, it was hot and his skin felt like it was vibrating.

As an instant reaction Tyler turned away quickly and scurried to an area beside the mansion where the guests were prohibited. Without an invitation or really any valid reason except for his curiosity and genuine concern for Tyler, Jeremy followed the werewolf.

"Tyler? Tyler, a-are you okay? Your eyes—they were… they-they changed colors." He stuttered on confusion and worry as he walked where ever Tyler did.

Breathless Tyler finally stopped rushing away from his emotional trigger that Jeremy had become and tried with all of his might to calm himself down. The whole thing was so ridiculous, it was a simple infatuation he had on Jeremy, and his emotions going hay wire like they were was too much.

"Go back to the party Jeremy, I'll be fine." Tyler pleaded as he backed against the mansion's outer wall, sliding to the ground.

"Tyler I—I don't think that was a good sign, are you sure you're okay? Has that happened a lot since you— um, since... you turned?" He said hesitantly, not sure if what he was saying was entirely appropriate. He could hear Tyler's breathing, it was rapid and uneven, he watched as it was clear that the older brunette was calming himself down.

Jeremy inched closer to the boy sitting on the ground, finally regulating his emotions, calming his wolf – for reasons Jeremy would never even know.

The younger of the two asked slowly, "Is it—feeling better?"  
He had unknowingly referred to the wolf inside of Tyler, truly worried for him.

Tyler tried to tear his eyes away from the ground, a safe spot for them as Jeremy stubbornly insisted on getting closer to him. Eventually Tyler succeeded in looking at Jeremy, at everything he quickly realized wasn't obtainable to him. Tyler should've known; he had figured out a long time ago since he changed that while his senses had heightened, his emotions had increased as well. Every emotion had intensified: anger, joy, excitement, and sadly disappointment and sorrow. It explained Tyler's abrupt jealousy; it explained his unexpected fixation with Jeremy. It was all making sense to Tyler now.

Jeremy unhurriedly sat next to Tyler against the large house, "Well the color's gone back to normal." Jeremy offered as he smiled sheepishly, his brown eyes staring intensely into Tyler's. There was a need inside of him just dying to know what it was back there that caused such a drastic change in the color of his eyes, golden honey color, manipulated by silver and brown

So quietly that Jeremy almost didn't hear it, Tyler whispered, "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Jeremy asked, almost too innocently.

Did he always have to be so _fucking_ cute? Tyler wondered in that moment.

"I usually have a better handle on it." He explained quietly, now looking back at the ground again.

The distance between him and Jeremy was a good enough space between casual friends but for a werewolf who desired a person as much as Tyler did it was too close for him to be next to Jeremy, so he unsubtly slid over – not caring that he was getting grass stains on his bottom.

In an almost humorous fashion Jeremy slid in the same direction as Tyler did, for some damn reason he was insisting that they be dangerously close to each other.

"Does it happen often?" Jeremy questioned, leaning over just a little. To be honest he didn't really know _why _he was trying to get closer to Tyler, maybe it was because he wanted to simply help the young werewolf. Tyler basically had no one else to turn to in times like these so who better than Jeremy? He may not know exactly every detail there was to the curse but at least he could be around Tyler's eyes changing and have an understanding for it as opposed to someone who hadn't a clue.

"Just um— just when I feel… certain things." Tyler murmured in admittance. Such a fucking mistake he had just made. Where exactly was he planning on going from that statement?

Jeremy had gotten trapped in confusion, his brows furrowed together slightly and he subconsciously started biting on the corner of his lower lip. "What do you mean? You— did you, did you _feel _something?"

_Yes. Absolute, inexplicable, animalistic jealousy on top of the fact that your touches make me want to add _more _marks on you. _But he couldn't very well say _that_, even as his mind was thinking it.

Tyler had no idea what he was supposed to say now. The air felt like it was growing hotter by the second, he could smell all sorts of scents coming from Jeremy; the human's cologne, his fabric softener, his shampoo, his… aftershave? Well that's hot. But most of all Tyler's sense of smell was being bombarded by the scent of something he wasn't too familiar with, he could smell someone else on Jeremy_._

He quickly tried to get his mind on to anything _but _the body beside him. So sporadically Tyler parted his lips and asked, "Why are you sitting here Jeremy?"

Tyler turned slightly to face the boy beside him and he noticed the small frown that was tugging Jeremy's lips, how the expression soon traveled to his eyes, his hair falling into his face and even though it was dark Tyler could see Jeremy's eyes travel downward to the ground between them.

"Because you looked so panicked earlier that I wanted to see if you were okay." Jeremy answered his voice quiet and timid.

Tyler sprung up from his sitting position, adjusted his clothes properly before saying, "Well I'm fine. You should really get back to the party. I'm sure Elena and Jenna are wondering where you've gone off to."

Jeremy chuckled with little humor, "I'm sure they'll be fine." He got up as well, "What exactly did you feel earlier?"

Jeremy was nothing if not a persistent prier.

The youngest Gilbert was now standing closer to Tyler than he had ever been that night. His thrumming heart sounding so loud, his warmth radiating so strongly, stood so close to Tyler; faces only inches apart, a short distance that neither could explain if they were to be seen. All it'd take from Tyler would be to lean in just a little and he'd achieve what he's wanted to do since he realized his draw to Jeremy.

But in the end Tyler breathed in deeply, reveling in the sweet scent that was of Jeremy, and infuriatingly the scent of someone else, he begrudgingly backed up a few steps.

"Thanks for – for trying to help. I appreciate it, Jeremy." Tyler said thoughtfully before he turned around and walked away. Jeremy stood in the darkened area, watching Tyler's back move further and further away. He bowed his head, rubbed his hand through his hair and let it fall to his side. He couldn't but worry for Tyler; worry for the fact that if Tyler's eyes could change their color so easily without his control it's only a matter of time before he draws more attention than can just be brushed off.

When Tyler got to a far enough distance he looked back to where Jeremy was standing. He saw that Jeremy wasn't alone anymore, he saw the reason for the marks on Jeremy's neck, he realized who the scent from earlier came from, and he could see how happy Jeremy seemed to be.

**11**

Thoughts?  
_Ughhh! I'm so sorry Jyler fans, I wanted to delve deeper into the supernatural triangle and make Damon as jealous as possible but I started reading the last 10 chapters and I want to take the story back to the tone of how it was in the beginning; but I don't want to prolong it for too long ('cause we all know from my Jyler story that I hate putting an ending to a story, but I don't want it to get too too long with no plot.)  
Tell me what you thought about it!_


	12. Twelve

Wow, all of the reviews have been so kind and wonderful; I swear, it gives me complete glee every time I see a new review, alert, or favorites to this story.  
Since last chapter had more seriousness in it I wanted for this one to be a _little_ humorous, but of course while I may think a temperamental male is funny… others may not. So I hope you guys read and enjoy.

**12**

From Elena's view

After Stefan and Elena found their friends and mingled with the other guests Elena noticed Jeremy's absence as the time went by. She knew he must've been there somewhere but she started to worry a little when she didn't see him walking around _at all. _Finally she decided to look for her younger brother outside, knowing that if Jenna didn't see him soon she'd start to worry too.

There was less of a crowd outside from when they first arrived so spotting Jeremy would've been easier but there was no luck for Elena. She would've called Jeremy and asked where he was but she forgot her phone at her house. She knew she really shouldn't have because there were no lights and clearly it looked like the people invited weren't supposed to go there but her curiosity got the better of her and Elena found herself going deeper into the darkness and around the large mansion.

Thankfully before Elena wandered too far behind the house she finally was able to hear to voices, not clear enough to tell who they belonged to but before she got close enough she could hear the sound of Jeremy's voice. She could hear him…yelling. Why on earth would he be yelling, she thought to herself. Then she could hear the voice of the person Jeremy was talking to. She could see Damon talking to her younger brother and how they were standing next to each other. Because she wasn't close enough to hear exactly every word the two of them were saying she could only hear the parts that they yelled out.

"…because, Jeremy. You can't be so _fucking _naïve." Damon accused, emphasizing on the words he knew would hurt Jeremy the most.

Elena saw how Jeremy rubbed his hand through his hair roughly, how his head was starting to shake from side to side quickly.

"Damon I thought we were over this." Jeremy said as he walked slightly away from Damon, closer to where Elena could see and hear him but luckily for her he couldn't see her from where she was standing/hiding.

She was aware of how bad it was for her to be listening in on his and Damon's conversation as if it were some big deal or something but she just couldn't understand why the two of them were talking to each other in an area away from all of the other guests and with such privacy. She was also dumbfounded by the way they were talking to one another, such anger in Damon's voice. Elena wanted to know so badly what Jeremy meant when he said that he thought they were over it… _over what?_

"Damon this is ridiculous. You getting this upset because you saw me with Tyler is crazy. It looked like he was starting to wolf out or something and all I did was try and help him. Jesus, it's not even the matter of how absurd it is that you think I'd do anything with Tyler of all people but the fact that you don't trust me at _all._"

Elena's mouth gaped open wider and wider. She still couldn't hear everything that Damon was saying but she was able to catch the last part of what he said back to Jeremy.

"…and besides, why should I trust you Jeremy?"

"Because I'm in fucking love with you, you fucking moron!"

Jeremy tossed up his hands in exasperation and stomped away, leaving both his sister and, what may or may not still be his boyfriend, in shock.

**12**

"Your brother's a fucking moron!" Jeremy said, his anger still fuming, as he ran into Stefan on his way toward the front gate of the Lockwood mansion. Party or no party Jeremy was quickly trying to make his way out of there; everyone had apparently lost their minds when he was around them.

Judging from Stefan's face you would have assumed it was a sudden hail storm that caught him by surprise when Jeremy walked past him. He was walking to his car to grab his cell phone, (not knowing Elena forgot hers at home) to call and see where Elena was and then suddenly he sees and hears Jeremy walking by him shouting obscenities. Of course he was already aware that Damon could be a moron sometimes but he wasn't really sure why Jeremy suddenly had that revelation. …they sounded like they were getting along just fine earlier that day, Stefan shuddered disgustedly as he remembered the events that took place just a few hours ago between Jeremy and his brother. Sometimes having super hearing was a perk to being a vampire but other times it was an absolute curse.

"Jeremy, are you okay?" Stefan asked with concern as he saw Jeremy starting to walk off onto the street. Of course since it was Stefan being Stefan he wasn't about to let Jeremy walk alone at night knowing God only knows what can be lurking in the shadows of Mystic Falls. So Stefan followed his girlfriend's younger brother/his brother's... boyfriend.

"I'm fine. It's your damn brother you should be worried about; he's lost his fucking lid." Jeremy said, he noticed, and not really caring that Stefan was walking with him to, well – he didn't really know _where_ he was going exactly.

Stefan snorted; he knew Damon's always been a few screws short of a set.

"Jeremy, I don't know why Damon does some of the things that he's done or will even do in the future. That part of him is a complete mystery to me." Stefan said filling in the silence. He wasn't going to comment on where he and Jeremy were heading to, he knew Jeremy was upset and didn't want to add onto it, but he did know something he could say to possibly improve Jeremy's situation.

"But beyond all of the things that I'll never understand about my brother there is one thing that I do know quite well." As a few seconds went by Stefan wasn't even sure as to whether or not Jeremy was even listening to him.

"And what exactly is that?" Jeremy finally asked as his gaze dropped to his shoes, watching them as they carried his body further and further into nowhere.

"That when he loves someone he starts to become irrational." The older of the two males said simply.

Stefan's words caused Jeremy to stop walking, he stood perfectly still as he turned his head slightly to look at Stefan. "What are you getting at Stefan?"

"What I'm _getting at_ – is that, when Damon falls for someone he doesn't make sense sometimes. All he knows is that he doesn't want to lose whatever it is that makes him happy. All he knows is that his happiness is never permanent. He just anticipates for something to go wrong. Then that's when he starts to self-destruct."

Stefan let a few moments of silence go by before he continued, "And I _think_ that Damon loves you Jeremy. If there's something that he does that you don't quite understand, that he seems like he's pushing you away it's only because he's too familiar with people just leaving on their own. His guard is up so high sometimes that he can't even _see_ through it."

After his very preacher-like moment Stefan took a deep breath and finally added, "I don't know what he's done this time that's gotten you so upset but… with Damon, sometimes you just have to be patient."

**12**

Damon sighed heavily, he rubbed his eyes firmly with his right hand and brought it up to his hair and ran through it angrily. Could he go with at least a _day _without fucking up? Sure as hell didn't seem like it. Within 24 hours he manages to accuse Jeremy with fucking a werewolf, nearly destroy his relationship, insult him even further by pretending like he doesn't care about the human who he's grown to be so obsessed with and now he's pretty much sealed their fate. Hell would probably freeze over, the dinosaurs would come back to roam the earth, and penguins would take flight high in the skies before Jeremy would ever forgive Damon this time.

With another defeated sigh Damon gulped hard.

"You can come out now."

_Oh, damn. _

Elena thought as she heard Damon speak to her. Just out of curiosity and desperation she looked around her to see if it were at all possible for Damon to be talking to anyone _but _her as she was, apparently, just caught eaves dropping on the two of them.

"Yes, Elena. I mean you." It was as if Damon read her mind, he sighed heavily for the third time and shoved his hands in his pockets waiting for Elena to come from behind the wall she was poorly hiding behind.

"How long did you know I was here?" She asked as she approached him.

"As soon as you took it upon yourself to take first row at the display of me fucking up… again." He answered calmly, there was no venom in his voice, no harsh meaning behind it; there was just— sadness.

Elena could see the hurt on Damon's face, a look that she honestly hated seeing on her friend.  
She stepped closer and looked at Damon in his eyes.  
"What was that about, Damon?" She asked carefully.

Damon averted his eyes away from Elena's and to the earth's floor, unable to look at how brown they were, how beautiful they were, how oddly similar they were to Jeremy's.

"You're a smart person Elena, I'm sure you picked up what that was about." His answer was quiet and steady.

Elena's brows furrowed together gently as she got lost in her thoughts.

"Are you—, and-and Jeremy?" She asked, more to herself than to Damon.  
Elena blinked a few times and looked up to Damon's face.

Damon took a deep breath and dragged his hand through his hair. Something he used to _never _do until he spent his time with Jeremy. He had to admit though; the disheveled hairstyle looked good on him.

"Are he and I, what?" Damon asked, practically taunting her. He knew what she meant and he knew that this realization must not be easy for her, especially after the way she had to find out. But Damon just didn't care at that moment. He was still kicking himself for letting his jealousy get between him and what he wants. Things have just been so fucked up and miserable from his side of the world, why is he surprised that Jeremy finally wised up?

Elena looked at the space between her and Damon, her eyes slowly traveling to Damon's posture. She noticed the way his body is sagging. His shoulders are drooped yet his back looks tense and she can see his eyes, all of the emotions they hold.

"Are you in love with my brother?" She asks, not even sure why that would be a possibility but from the conversation she just heard obviously _something _was going on between him and Jeremy. Something so serious between them that it has caused Jeremy to scream out his feelings for Damon.

She can see the Adam's apple in Damon's throat to move as he swallows roughly, she can hear the snort that rolls out of Damon and into the silence.

"How long has it been going on?" She tacks on.

"Ever since—Rose." Damon answers sadly.

"There was a night that Jeremy stopped me from killing someone. Her name was Jessica and… and there was a moment of fantasy that I had where I sank my fangs into her pristine neck and drain the life out of her. Take out all of the anger I was holding in that night and release them onto someone I didn't care about. Onto someone that I could kill and not even have remorse for doing so afterwards. But your brother stopped me from doing that."

Silence loomed between them.

Damon's eyes stared upward at the moon and stars.

**12**

Jeremy inhaled deeply the clean, cold night air that circled around him as he looked at the sky above him. Realizing just how bright the moon was shining that night, how the stars that adorned it were just as marvelous. He closed his eyes before he responded to what Stefan had just said to him.

"Have I been foolish, Stefan? Should I not have gotten close to him?"  
He asked out of true curiosity. Wondering whether or not it was a mistake for him and Damon to start what neither of them really wanted to end.

"Do you love him?" The older of the two asked.

**12**

"Do you love him, Damon?" Elena asked again.

At different places but at the same time both Damon and Jeremy said one word that was identical with each other.

"_Yes._"

**12**

_For some reason I REALLY liked this chapter, hope you did too. It's one of the shortest chapters of this story but I just got SO impatient and I really want to know what you all think about it.  
Thoughts?  
__(Secretly I'm channeling to the minds of all of my readers and saying: Reviews, to me, are like jellybeans to a sugar obsessed 6 year old; there can never be too many.)_


	13. Thirteen

_So sorry for the gap in updates. Hadn't really had the time but thankfully… here it is! Yaaay!  
Thank you so much for all of the reviews and support.  
Note: So… there's something that's kind of crazy that is about to happen in this story. I know it seems like it's coming out of nowhere but when I first got the idea I was so excited about it that I guess I didn't really think about how hard it was going to be to actually write and make sense of it. But hopefully you all will see where I was kind of going with it (because believe me, it's REALLY crazy) and I'm sorry if this chapter turns out to be a disappointment for you guys. But I hope you all enjoy it! (:_

**-Recap-**

"Have I been foolish, Stefan? Should I not have gotten close to him?"  
He asked out of true curiosity. Wondering whether or not it was a mistake for him and Damon to start what neither of them really wanted to end.

"Do you love him?" The older of the two asked.

"Do you love him, Damon?" Elena asked again.

At different places but at the same time both Damon and Jeremy said one word that was identical with each other.

"_Yes._"

**13**

Damon had just answered aloud the one question he'd only been able to admit to himself, _barely_.

"—and I'm pretty sure I just fucked it up." Damon answered quietly, more to himself than anything else. Somewhere, beyond himself, he resented Elena for asking him that.

His words left Elena in shock. To be honest, she was expecting Damon to scoff, deny any feelings whatsoever that he may have held for her younger brother but instead he flipped the switch on her and took her completely by surprise. Any other time Elena would have doubted Damon, wondered if he were being truthful but the way she saw Damon look at Jeremy. Even as Damon was yelling at her brother she could tell that he was hurt about something, that he was _jealous_ over some_one._ And based off of the context Elena guessed that Damon was jealous because of Tyler. An insane reason for him to be jealous about, she thought.

"Damon—why were you and Jeremy fighting?" She asked carefully.

Normally Elena would never speak so softly or with such caution to Damon but she could tell he was even more explosive now than he normally was, she figured not to probe Damon any more than was necessary.

In between the summer crickets chirping their native sound, Damon released an inaudible and very humorless chuckle. He had an oxymoronic smile on his lips and his eyes were cold and distant.

"You wouldn't understand, Elena." Was all Damon said.

**13**

"Then no." Stefan said as a matter-of-_factly_.

Jeremy's brows furrowed together. "Excuse me?" He asked, clueless.

"You asked me whether or not you were foolish for getting close to Damon. Then I asked you if you loved him. You told me yes. Then I said, in reference to your previous question, 'then no'."

_Smartass, _Jeremy thought to himself.

Both Stefan and Jeremy smirked to themselves. Stefan for thinking he was being clever and Jeremy for being secretly glad that he had a sister with a nosy, smartass, yet helpful boyfriend who just so happened to be the brother of the man that he was so frustratingly in love with.

After a moment of silence passed, "Well it doesn't matter." Jeremy spoke out assertively.

"Why do you say that?" Stefan asked as he and Jeremy began walking again down the dark road, away from the mansion.

"Because I'm pretty sure Damon won't ever trust me the way that he should." Jeremy paused again and stopped walking. "That's pretty much what we were just fighting over. Was the reason why I called him a fucking idiot."

Stefan intervened, "I believe the term you used was, 'Fucking _moron_'." He smirked again.

"That too." Jeremy agreed.

He could hear his words making Stefan laugh in the dark.

"Either way—he's being ridiculous." Jeremy finally said.

Stefan inhaled a deep breath (Even though it wasn't necessary) and glanced sideways to Jeremy. He had had something on his mind for a while now. Something he and Damon never talked about, never even mentioned _slightly_. Stefan thought about Rose. He knew she meant something to Damon and he could only have imagined how hard it was for Damon to kill her. To have to kill one of the few people Damon trusted to let in. Even though Damon never actually said the words, Stefan could tell that his older brother trusted Rose.

The point to Stefan's thoughts was that Damon lost yet another person that meant something to him. Stefan really couldn't blame his brother for being as closed off as he was. Stefan also thought how lucky Jeremy was for how Damon managed to open up to the human, to let him in as much as he had. Jeremy just needed to make Damon see that he could be trusted with what made Damon vulnerable, his love.

"You want him to trust you. You just need to try _harder_." Stefan finally says, smiling at the incredulous look of surprise on Jeremy's face.

The two continued their journey to nowhere in silence.

**13**

At the Lockwood mansion Damon ended up leaving Elena outside as she gaped at all of what Damon told her. At times he was a little vague and did not go into much detail but what he mainly told her was that he loved her brother. He loved Jeremy more than he knew he should have and he even told her that loving Jeremy was not his plan.

When Elena asked Damon how and when their relationship formed, he told her it was on the night that Rose died. He explained that it killed him to put her out of her misery and that all he wanted to do was give up and leave. He had been proven countless times that him trusting someone was a mistake because whether or not they leave on their own or by the forces of nature - he had always been left alone. Letting someone close to him led to a pain that he knew only killed him more and more inside.

He then told her about Jessica and how if it weren't for her younger brother, Damon would have killed that girl on the side of the road. Had it not been for Jeremy, Jessica might not have been the only one to die by the fangs of Damon that night.

Damon finished by saying that if Jeremy could prevent him from adding to the hell he had already put upon this earth then that was someone he could not deny that he needed.

Afterwards, Damon left and headed to the boarding house. His emotions a whirl wind of anger, residual jealousy, loneliness, disappointment, and an ache for Jeremy. He was also bitter. He was bitter because he let a mere human weaken him. He was bitter that a human had the _ability_ to weaken him, to control him the way he knew Jeremy could. Damon would have never guessed that Jeremy would be the one who could affect him as much as he could.

Above all, as much as Damon hated to admit it, he just wanted Jeremy there with him. He wondered where he was, what he was feeling. Damon scoffed at that, did he really have the right to wonder all that anymore?

**13**

Once the two males finished their walk to nowhere they eventually made their way back to the Lockwood mansion. While Stefan went back into the party, Jeremy made it to the edge of the property before he decided that he was through with the party and started walking off to his home.

He went over what he talked about with Stefan.

Stefan had actually took up for his older brother, had opened Jeremy's eyes more about Damon. Jeremy should have realized a long time ago that Damon wasn't the most trusting person in the world. Though, he had just assumed that with Jeremy… the trust was implied. Hadn't Jeremy proven to him that Damon could trust him? He hadn't given Damon any reason for him to think that Jeremy would ever be with anyone else, would ever _want_ anyone else. Much less hurt the man, Jeremy loved him too much to do that.

Well that jealous moron was going to know exactly how much he could trust Jeremy.  
Instead of going home, Jeremy averted his direction and headed to the boarding house.

**13**

Before he started off to the boarding house he went to get some things.

Was he certain about what he planned to do? No  
Had he thought it out completely? No.  
Was he trusting in the love he prayed Damon had for him? Hell yes.

Jeremy gulped painfully.

He was currently standing in his crazy, moronic, jealous, possessive, temperamental, vampiric boyfriend's bedroom watching as Damon slept in nothing but his boxer briefs clinging to the lower half of his body on his large wooden bed. Jeremy had to admit that he must've looked pretty bad as he was just standing there watching Damon as if he was some sort of creepy stalker. But there was a reason Jeremy was there not saying a word. He was preparing himself for what he was about to do.

Without really thinking about it Jeremy just started doing it. What he had with him were two long pieces of triple braided ropes that he had tied each of the ends to Damon's wrists. The other ends of the ropes were tied to the thick legs of Damon's bed.

He couldn't believe he was actually doing this. He couldn't believe he was really able to do it without waking Damon up. The vampire must have seriously been tired. Jeremy also couldn't believe that tying up his vampire of a boyfriend to his own bed wasn't the craziest thing he was planning on doing. How this idea even came into his head Jeremy will never know, but in one of Jeremy's hands was a piece of wood with a sharpened tip. _A stake._

Okay, what he was planning to do may have seemed a little irrational and EXTREMELY crazy, but he really needed to show that Damon could trust him. Yes, he is aware of how ironic it looks but the way he figures it, he trusts Damon with his life. Hell, he risked it that night when he saved Jessica from Damon when Damon had gone off the emotional-deep end. He basically threw himself in the lion's den when he agreed to go back to the boarding house with Damon alone because he felt that Damon could use the company and shouldn't be alone that night. And when Jeremy could see that he had nothing to worry about with Damon – sure, the vampire had an awful temper and strength from all hell, Jeremy began to realize that he hadn't anything to worry about when it came to his safety with Damon. Hetrusted him with his life because he could tell that Damon cared about him; as fucked up as Damon showed it sometimes.

Jeremy's logic was simple: If a powerless _human _trusted a _vampire, _then that vampire should sure as hell trust the human. Because Jeremy loved that moron and he was going to see for himself if Damon truly loved him back.

…now Jeremy was a little worried as to whether or not he'd _want _to know.

But as he looked at his current situation, he realized he had no other choice. He and Damon left things off badly and Jeremy couldn't think of any other way to fix it. He didn't know how else he was going to make Damon see that he could trust him, as ironic as his plan seemed.

What Jeremy hoped would happen would be that he'd wake Damon up, the older male realize Jeremy tied him up, which of course Jeremy was well aware that the ropes couldn't really stop Damon from moving (they were just symbolic, to see if Damon would actually trust Jeremy enough _not _to break free), Damon would see that even as Jeremy has him tied up with a stake in his hands he still would never hurt him. That if he wanted to hurt Damon he would've done it a long time ago.  
Magically Damon would see that despite Jeremy's insane attempt of showing it, he loved Damon and would never dream of doing anything to hurt him.

But of course, that was only what Jeremy had _hoped _would happen.

As he realized that it was now or never, Jeremy breathed in and out deeply and one last time he looked over Damon's sleeping form and prayed that he'd get what he hoped for.

Before he woke up Damon, Jeremy straddled the vampire's hips and bit his lip nervously. With his empty hand he stroked Damon's face lightly and ran his thumb down Damon's cheek and across his bottom lip, knowing that it'd wake Damon up every time. While Damon may have been a heavy sleeper he always woke up to the feeling of Jeremy touching him like that.

Under the weight of Jeremy's body and from the sensations he felt on his lips Damon's eyes opened sleepily. Before he realizes what's going on he actually looks up at Jeremy with a groggy and somewhat unconscious smile on his face, his eyes adjusting to the human sitting on him.

It's only when Damon feels his immobilized arms outstretched behind him and that he sees the obvious piece of wood in Jeremy's hand that his face changes from tired and happy to angry and alert. Had it not been for the stake in Jeremy's death grip, Damon would have been delighted in his kinky state of being tied up with Jeremy on top of him because that meant he and Jeremy weren't over. But his natural, vampire survival instincts obviously kicked in because at that very moment all he saw was: _threat_.

"Jeremy what the hell are you—." Until his words are cut off, Damon snarls up at the human on top of him, the skin around his eyes tinged with dark veins and his eyes a murderous glow of red.  
"Please Damon calm down", Jeremy begs.

His entire body tenses, he understands that it's normal for anyone to be alarmed and pissed if they were to wake up and find themselves tied and in the presence of one of the few things that could kill them. But Jeremy hopes that he can calm Damon down enough so that he can talk to him, explain his actions.

"You tie me up with a _stake _in your hands and tell me to calm down?" Damon asks with actual venom clear in his voice. If not for the fact that Jeremy knew it was well deserved, the harshness of Damon's voice would've made him cringe. Saddened by the fact that he didn't think Damon could ever speak to him like that. Then of course, Jeremy figured that he was lucky that that was all Damon had done so far.

Still, Jeremy cannot control the way his eyes formed into large, emotional, chocolate colored orbs of sadness as he peered down at Damon. The vampire was never able to resist them; while Jeremy knew that, he wasn't exactly doing it on purpose that time.

Damon closed his eyes, the muscle in his jaw jumping maniacally as it clenches.  
"Jeremy, untie me. Now." Damon warns him.  
His warning only shattering Jeremy's heart and spirit even more from the fact that his boyfriend clearly didn't trust him. He realized how absurd the circumstances were but Jeremy did not care.

All he knew was that every time Damon wanted to bite him, to steal away his own blood Jeremy let him; knowing very well that that was dangerous all on its own because in the heat of the moment there was never a way of knowing that Damon wouldn't have suddenly lost his control and drained Jeremy dry. But stupidly, the human never cared about the risks because he knew that Damon cared for him, he knew that he could trust Damon.

Jeremy looked down at Damon, able to see the tension on the vampire's face and he can actually see Damon internally debating with himself as to whether or not he should release himself from the restraints. And it all hurts Jeremy; he loves Damon so much that he'd trust him with anything, why couldn't Damon trust him back?

"Damon I'm not stupid. We both know that those ropes around your wrists might as well be loosely tied ribbon; you don't need me to untie you. But what I don't know is whether you trust me or not and apparently you don't. I need you to trust me enough not to hurt you."

Before Jeremy continues, he remembers what stemmed his and Damon's fight to begin with. Figuring now that he might as well clear it out of the air for Damon since he probably wasn't going to have much more time with him.

"Damon I don't even think about being with anyone else, much less Tyler," Jeremy says incredulously. He can feel the rumble of a growl erupting from beneath him. He swallows roughly, hoping Damon understands why he's doing this.

"I only _want you_, I only _care about you_. I need you to know how much you mean to me," he continues. "I need you to know. . . that I love you. Even with the opportunity, I would _never _hurt you." Jeremy confesses, knuckles turning white from the pressure his hand currently has on the wooden stake. A tear slips from one of his eyes and it's slowly gliding down his face and lands on Damon's abdomen. He hopes he's explained well enough why he's doing this to the older man.

Damon's face loosens. His nostrils flare slightly and his eyes remain on Jeremy's. He sees how glassy they have become and he hears Jeremy's erratic heartbeat. Damon blinks silently, his head drops back onto the pillows, and he licks his lips absentmindedly. His jaw clenches and relaxes a few more times. He wants so badly to say to Jeremy that he's got a funny way of showing it but he knows well enough that Jeremy was just trying to prove a point. That even when he's got a stake mounted in the air and Damon tied up that he'd never do anything to hurt him, Damon gets it.

The vampire continues to let Jeremy sit on him. He lets Jeremy remain over his body with a sharpened stake in his hands as his emotions are running on overdrive. All it would take for him to free himself would be to tug with little effort and the wood attached to his ropes wood snap like a twig. Yet he just stares up in to Jeremy's eyes and he sees what he should've seen all along. He sees that Jeremy loves him. He hates how this kid has softened him to such a level that he is becoming more and more like his younger brother but he is reminded that it doesn't matter. Just as long as he is rewarded with Jeremy in the end, it doesn't matter how much of a sappy vampire he is reduced to. As long he gets to see that look in Jeremy's eyes. That look that assures Damon of all his worries, that Jeremy loves him just as much as he loves Jeremy. In an odd picture of irony Damon, for the first time, truly sees how much he means to Jeremy. He knows that the human would never hurt him, physically or otherwise.

At the same time Jeremy has noticed how relaxed Damon's body has become compared to how tense it was from before. He notes how Damon's eyes have long ago shifted back to their state of beautiful blue and now aren't even holding the hard glare as they were a few minutes ago. At first he thinks it's the calm before the storm. He thinks that Damon is relaxing himself underneath Jeremy so that Jeremy won't see it coming when he tears away from the ropes and stops him before he thinks Jeremy will plunge the stake through his heart, as if he would ever do that.

And then he hears Damon speak.

"I do trust you."  
A moment of silence passes, "and I love you too." The older man says calmly, his head back on the pillows again as his eyes are closed.

His stomach is rising and falling slowly and he's unable to see that Jeremy has let go of the stake and laid it on the side of the bed.

It's only when he feels Jeremy's warm hands glide over his abs and chest that he realizes that Jeremy is unarmed and is smiling at him tearfully. Damon can feel the way Jeremy is moving above him, his lower half shifting over Damon's groin making it so that Jeremy can lean down and kiss Damon. He kisses him on the lips, slowly, carefully, gratefully.

Jeremy is met with Damon's lips blissfully kissing him back. He knows he shouldn't be but is surprised when he can feel not only Damon's tongue touch his own lips but Damon's dick beginning to harden against his own. He was still surprised by how fast Damon's emotions could change.

As an immediate reaction, Jeremy's cheeks began to warm with a slight pink hue.

Damon always found Jeremy's blushes a beautiful addition to his boyfriend's face and attempts to make it continue by bucking up his hips under Jeremy's weight. He earns a surprised gasp from Jeremy and Damon can see a wide smile forming on Jeremy's face.

"Do you want me to untie you?" Jeremy asks with guilty eyes and a sweet smile.

Damon smirked waywardly, his eyes scanning Jeremy's upper body.

"Depends – How much are you in to bondage?"

**13**

_Yeah, I don't think it's entirely realistic for a vampire not to be aware of when he is being tied up in his sleep but then again… vampires aren't really realistic in the first place. :)  
I'm evil, I know. Haven't updated in such a long time, then when I do… it's a bloody cliff hanger. I should be shot, but then there wouldn't be a continuing chapter. More than likely it'll be sooner than in a couple of months. I'm excited for the smut so I'll definitely be working on it whenever I can.  
Please tell me what you think of this chapter, I was debating going with the idea of Jeremy doing what he does but I couldn't resist a bounded Damon._


	14. Fourteen

_Warnings: Smut, slash (m/m), adult language, bites._

**14**

Jeremy felt himself harden instantly.  
He hadn't been expecting Damon to say _that._ Though, Jeremy must admit, he always _did _have a few fantasies of some of the things he'd loved to do to Damon if ever in that situation.

While still straddling Damon, Jeremy scooted back slightly and gave himself enough room to lean down and lick gently at Damon's left nipple. His bottom lip teasing the skin as his tongue made slow circling motions on it and his muscled peck. Jeremy was just about to stop until he heard the groans coming from Damon's throat and lips. He couldn't help the smile he had on his face, seeing how far he could get until he drove Damon past his limits.

Suddenly Damon felt the sensation of teeth scrape over his chest and grip the nipple Jeremy had just been licking. Once he felt Jeremy kitten-lick it, Damon emitted a noise that could be mistaken as a groan but Jeremy knew very well that it was Damon's, very subtle, whimpers.

"Jer-meeee-", Damon growled brokenly.

"Yes?" Jeremy asked with innocence. His upper body straightened again as he stared into Damon's half closed eyes.  
Before Damon could tell Jeremy anything he felt the human on top of him slide back again and leaning into Damon's neck. Friction causing his erected cock to harden even more. Damon could feel how tight his briefs had gotten so quickly, thanking whoever was above them that he wasn't in something more restricting like jeans. Jeremy, on the other hand, was; his cock ached too but he wanted to push it as far as he could.

He pressed his parted lips to Damon's throat and sucked and licked softly. He kissed the skin before he caressed it with his tongue; long, hot strokes.

The vibrations coming from Damon's body only made Jeremy's jeans tighten even more.  
"Tell me what you want." Jeremy asked his breath hot and heavy against Damon's exposed collar bone.

Damon smirked, not able to do anything else and answered bluntly, "You naked."

Jeremy smiled amusedly, "besides that." He said in between his licks and nibbles to the vampire's flesh.

Damon's abdomen started to tighten, his erected cock filled so hard with blood he thought he'd hemorrhage. If Jeremy did not start doing _something _he really was going to let himself go from the ropes and have his dirty way with the younger male. Punish him for being such a damn tease with how he was currently rubbing his ass against Damon's dick.

He breathed out and mewled in an octave lower than normal, "Jeremy."

After finally deciding that he wasn't going to get to hear it Jeremy decided to have mercy on his vampire and wriggled his body downward even further. He dipped his fingers down the waistband of Damon's charcoal-black boxer briefs and before he took them down, he leaned forward and pressed a hot, open-mouthed kiss to Damon's clothed erection.

Jeremy glanced upward at the still-tied Damon and noted how his chest had begun to heave up and down unsteadily. Damon bucked his hips, closed his eyes tighter and just as he started pulling on the rope, he felt the cold air hit his cock and just before he could revel in the freedom he so desperately needed, there was an anxious and wet tongue licking his shaft.

A strong, hot hand was placed on his inner thigh near his sac spreading his legs wider so Jeremy could fit perfectly in between them. With this position Jeremy sank his mouth slowly over Damon's hard member and began hollowing his cheeks giving Damon a suction the older man craved. Jeremy lifted his head slowly until only the head of Damon's cock was between his lips. He dug his tongue down in the slit and tried hard not to gag as he felt Damon literally fuck into his mouth. Jeremy probably should have seen it coming but was still unprepared for how deep Damon's erection was going into his throat. Trying to relax himself he hummed and pulled back slightly. The vibration it sent to Damon's sensitive organ had made it that much harder for him to rest his hips down onto the bed.

The vampire desperately wanted to fuck Jeremy. _Hard_.

So after he came, Damon basked in his blissful orgasm still reveling in the heat of Jeremy's mouth before saying hoarsely, "Take your clothes off now, or so help me God, _I'll_ do it _for_ you."

After he kissed and sucked a soft area of skin on Damon's thigh Jeremy worked his way back up the impatient body beneath him, and kissed Damon's mouth deeply.

Although it wasn't particularly what Damon wanted he gladly kissed his boyfriend back; having missed Jeremy's passionate kisses, although the two had only been fighting for a few hours. As soon as Damon began sucking Jeremy's tongue into his own mouth the human left his lips hastily and got off of Damon's naked body and bed.

Thinking Jeremy was finally doing as he pleased Damon got ready to enjoy the show of Jeremy undressing before him. But instead, he felt a soft hand graze his wrist and start untying the rope that bounded him.  
Once both wrists were free Jeremy ceased Damon's mouth again as he stood beside his sprawled body, nibbled his bottom lip and whispered, "Strip me yourself."

Damon could really get used to this side of Jeremy.  
He smirks roguishly, "As you wish."

In the blink of an eye Damon had Jeremy pinned to the bed beneath him, his clothes still on. Damon loosened the tie around Jeremy's neck and tossed it to the other side of the room. Damon slid his hands palm down against Jeremy's white shirt, un-tucked, and pushed up the offending garment. The side of his thumb brushed Jeremy's nipple lightly causing the human to arch his back just a little and he blinked up to Damon as if to say, "_You're not done, mister._"

Damon leaned down from his straddling position on Jeremy's thighs and kissed from his jaw bone, to his clavicle, licking down in the hollow and sucking the collar bone. He brushed his nose across the skin of Jeremy's smooth neck inhaling the scent of the aroused human beneath him. Damon glanced up to see Jeremy's eyes already closed and his bottom lip being sucked partially between his teeth. For Damon just earlier thinking that he wouldn't be able to do this with Jeremy anymore the sight was just as comforting as it was pornographic.

He realized just how much he'd miss Jeremy had the younger man not forgiven him for his jealousy and accusations. After all, Damon _had _accused Jeremy of naivety, sleeping with Tyler (or having thought about it), not being trustworthy, as well as not being of any importance to Damon at all. Yet the insane part of it all was that Damon had actually cherished Jeremy during all of that, he still does; now more than ever.

Damon was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt Jeremy practically wriggle from where he was laying. It was at that moment that Damon could feel just how hard Jeremy was. The younger male tried getting what little friction he could while his boyfriend was taking his sweet old time hovering over him while he was NAKED!

The eldest male had a toothy grin on his face as he continued his journey downward. He licked a trail from Jeremy's chest, successfully laving both his sensitive nipples, down to the ridges of Jeremy's abs. The smooth skin of Jeremy's body was warm and inviting as Damon kissed along his lean torso stopping just at the top of his black dress pants.

In all honesty, Damon would love to have kept Jeremy waiting until he was a mewling mess underneath him. But the truth of the matter was that Damon was so hard (even after his blow job) that his lack of patience got the best of him. He unsnapped Jeremy's pants fluidly, yanked the black bottoms off in one movement, and was delightfully surprised to have seen that Jeremy had gone without anything under them.

Fortunately Jeremy was so eager to feel the length of Damon's erection against his own that Damon didn't even have to wait for Jeremy to start grinding against him. Flesh against flesh, hard cock meeting an equally stiff member and if not for the need of some sort of lubricant Damon was sure that he would have taken Jeremy dry. As Damon kissed his way back up to Jeremy's semi-swollen lips he angled one of Jeremy's legs after another until both knees were bent and his legs were partially gripping Damon's sides.

Damon sucked two of his fingers into his mouth until they were slick enough for what he needed them for.  
He leaned back down to suck at Jeremy's collarbone as he inserted his index finger inside of the eager male below him.

Jeremy sucked in a breath and closed his eyes at the sudden penetration. He guided his hands up and down Damon's back digging his fingertips lightly into the muscled body. His lower lip sucked between his teeth as he felt Damon's hot mouth work its way from his chest to his throat and the second finger stretch him open even more.  
It was when he felt Damon scissor him open, the depth that Damon had gone to that he started pushing down to feel more of Damon inside of him. He knew Damon was much bigger than the room he had made but he wanted his blue eyed boyfriend's cock so bad that he couldn't wait any longer.

Jeremy signaled what he desired by the moans that escaped his lips and the wriggle of his lower body.

His eagerness made the older male chuckle. Damon withdrew from Jeremy's body and began licking in long strokes up Jeremy's neck as he sunk into him slowly.

"Damon," Jeremy breathed.

"You all right?" Damon asked with vigilance.  
He'd never get used to how protective he was of Jeremy. Even over what they've already done Damon still didn't want Jeremy in any pain whatsoever. Sometimes he still couldn't believe it.  
He was Damon Salvatore, the monster that wreaked havoc among the people of Mystic Falls, the murderer of some of its inhabitants. Yet now he was concerned with one resident in particular; not to harm them, but protect them.

Jeremy moaned softly, waiting for Damon to, "Move."

Damon waited just a few more seconds for Jeremy to get as comfortable as he could (although he too couldn't wait any longer, his erection throbbing) before he sunk in to the hilt. He moved his hips until he was thrusting into Jeremy slowly. His body thrashed into a world of euphoria as he heard Jeremy's groans of pleasure when his prostate was tapped by the force of Damon's full cock. The older man fueled by the desire to keep his human as pleased as he possibly could.

Jeremy wrapped his legs fully around Damon's waist and thrust in time to meet Damon's movements. He too loved the noises that periodically came from Damon. He was actually _very_ vocal when it came to him being with Jeremy.

As Damon's climax was getting closer he reached between their sweat slicked bodies and grabbed Jeremy's neglected erection. The pressure Damon was applying both inside of Jeremy and to his member was sinfully exhilarating. Jeremy threw his head back onto the pillows and continued to dig his fingers over the expansion of Damon's back. His hands gradually sliding down to the vampire's backside, gripping lightly.

"Jeremy," Damon growled, his thrusts speeding up, becoming more and more out of rhythm; desperate for his release. As Jeremy clenched his insides even tighter Damon shouted his name one last time and, despite the vampire's efforts not to, bit into Jeremy's neck.

The human hissed. He enjoyed when Damon bit him. He liked the rush he felt as he knew something as dangerous as what Damon was could be as possessive yet tender even as his fangs protruded Jeremy's body. Above all, Jeremy loved when Damon would kiss the wound he'd created. Jeremy's skin was so sensitive after being bitten and sucked on that even the tiniest licks and soft kisses could make him orgasm all over again.

And with that, he did.

Both dark haired men stilled in their position until Damon finally removed his sated member, planted another kiss to Jeremy's neck, and rolled onto the other side of the bed.

Damon nuzzled into Jeremy's chest as the younger of the two still tried evening his breath.

"You can tie me up anytime you'd like," muttered Damon against Jeremy's chest, grinning as he did so.

Jeremy chuckled, "Or –,"  
He kissed the top of Damon's head, "We could always change it up next time."

Damon rolled over completely and stared at Jeremy as his eyes were closed again.

"Okay…  
Bite me," he ordered seriously.

At this Jeremy opened his eyes and looked back at Damon, confused.

"You mean like, drink your blood?" He asked.

Damon licked his lips, thought about it for a few seconds, and then dug two nails into the flesh of the side of his neck. He did this so hard that blood started drawing from the marks.

"I mean – _bite me_, on my neck_, j_ust like I do you." He smirked at the prospect.

Feeling vampiric all of a sudden Jeremy climbed on top of Damon vertically, licked the spot where the blood was running freely, and suddenly latched his mouth onto the area. It was different from when he sucked blood from a vampire before; normally they made the punctures for him on their wrist and it was easier to suck the blood. But this time Damon hadn't made the holes big enough so Jeremy had to sucker harder. But when he did, the blood soaked his tongue generously.  
Adding something more, Jeremy ran his palm down to graze one of Damon's nipples and his abdomen as he took his last suckles of blood. He could feel the rumbles of pleasure vibrating in Damon's throat as much as he could hear them.

He could also feel the holes in his own neck closing up. As much as he yearned more of what Damon had to offer Jeremy reluctantly pulled away. He kissed the bruise that was fading just as fast as it appeared from how hard Jeremy sucked on Damon's skin. He licked the spot one last time and almost wished it wouldn't heal as fast as it did. He wanted his mark on Damon to be permanent.

But alas, he looked back at Damon's smooth skin to see it unmarred and as perfect as always.

Damon lay on his back and leaned up to kiss Jeremy's blood-stained lips.

Tongues slid against each other, some of Damon's blood hadn't been swallowed entirely as he could taste himself inside of Jeremy's mouth.

As they pulled apart both men were smiling indolently.

"Are we okay?" Damon asked, his blue eyes rendering some of the worry he still had. He couldn't help himself from still worrying just a little about the events that took place earlier. A part of him still feared losing Jeremy, it always would.

Jeremy's dark eyes smiled back at Damon's blue ones and he whispers, "We're okay."

**A/n:** I _really_ want to make this story more interesting and throw in some more plots.  
I was wondering, _will you guys still read it if I kept it going?_ I promise I'll try and update more frequently because I'll actually have more of a game plan if you guys want it.  
Please, please, please let me know! Because I'm debating on whether or not this should be the ending and I really don't want it to end yet.


	15. Fifteen

_So I kind of… embellished a little on the characteristics of the vampires (I think). So if there's anything that's not exactly correct – oops. :)_

**15**

_Giggles_

"_Shh, we'll wake them up!"  
"I don't care. I live here too. Besides, I'm sure Jenna's not too thrilled that her nephew is currently missing. Won't he have to let her know that he made it back from the party okay? I'm sure she's worried sick."  
"Oh never mind that. I already told her Jeremy and I decided to crash here since we all took the same vehicle and figured it'd be easier to go home in the morning instead of waking her up during the middle of the night. She knows he's fine, Stefan."  
"So… he really said that?"  
"Yup, I asked him point blank, 'Damon, do you love him?' and he said yes!"  
"Yeah, when I asked him how he felt about Damon, Jeremy said the same thing."_

At that, Damon was glad he woke up when he did.

His body was pressed firmly against Jeremy's. His boyfriend still asleep under the covers, body bare and radiating so much heat against Damon's naked flesh. He'd never felt so comfortable.  
That was until he looked down at Jeremy's face as he slept. Damon knew that Jeremy wasn't exactly the "young little Gilbert" anymore but Jeremy still looked just as innocent when he's sleeping. The last thing Damon ever wanted to do was take away any of that innocence the young man still had.

Jeremy breathed in and out deeply, "You're thinking too loudly."

A corner of Damon's lips peeked upwards as Jeremy cuddled closer against his chest.

"How long have you been awake?" Jeremy asked sleepily.

"Not for long. Your sister and my brother are downstairs.  
Apparently we both told them the same thing last night."

Jeremy's brows furrowed together as he looked up into Damon's eyes quizzically.

"You and I both told them we loved each other," he explained simply.

Damon couldn't help the smile he had as Jeremy looked away.  
Okay, so it was nice that Jeremy loved him to the point that he was willing to let even Stefan know. Damon wasn't used to that and if he wanted to revel in it then he would.

Jeremy yawned lightly, "Oh."

Then suddenly, "Wait Elena knows? You told Elena?"

"Well you told Stefan. She was bound to find out eventually." Damon answered defensively.

Picking it up, immediately Jeremy rubbed Damon's smooth chest and abdomen apologetically.  
"I didn't mean it like that, Damon. I just – I didn't know Elena knew that's all."

Like friggin' catnip to a kitten; the gentle rubs Jeremy made on Damon's body eased away some of his tension. Before Damon could say anything Jeremy stopped rubbing his pectoral area, looked up at him with big chocolate brown eyes, and said reassuringly, "I'm glad she knows, baby."

Jeremy leaned up partially and planted a chaste kiss onto Damon's lips.  
"And I'm glad it's important to you that she knows about us."

As Jeremy rested against Damon again he laughed softly, "How'd she take it?"

Damon wrapped both of his arms around Jeremy's body drawing him closer.  
"She overheard us when we were arguing last night and after that she put the pieces together. By the time she asked me if I loved you and I told her yes she was rather shell shocked."

The older man could feel the younger one tense slightly in his arms. Damon made a note of it not to bring up their fights anymore after that.

"For what it's worth, she seems pretty happy about us right now."

He got another confused look from Jeremy.  
Damon pointed to one of his ears, "Enhanced hearing remember?"

"I guess Stefan told her that you were here," he continued.

Jeremy thought for a second, "How would he know?"

He looked to the side again to see Damon's eyebrows draw up suggestively.

As if in sync Jeremy understood immediately and wrinkled his nose.  
"Oh my god," he groaned into Damon's side nuzzling into him, giving reason for Damon to laugh, clearly not embarrassed at the slightest. In fact, he was quite proud of having Jeremy there with him. The more he and Jeremy carried around each other's scents the better. Damon was well aware that even after showering Jeremy will still carry around his lover's scent and the same with himself as long as they remained staying together as close as they were.  
Sure humans would never be able to pick up on it, but with the way things were going, they were slowly becoming the minority of Mystic Falls anyway.

But he decided to play along anyways.  
"Well how do you think I feel? I probably reek of human from all of your _cuddling_." He complains accusatorily.

Jeremy gasped in mock hurt and threw himself on top of Damon's body pressing him further into the mattress, pinning his wrists down. Covering his neck and chest with opened mouth kisses making sure to lick and suck at all of his favorite places.

**15**

After the two showered together Damon lent Jeremy a pair of his denim jeans and one of his black buttoned down shirts with the sleeves rolled up quarter length that he insisted Jeremy wore with a loosely tied skinny white tie. The big bad vampire would never admit it but he had a thing for dressing Jeremy. Mostly because he knew he enjoyed it even more when he got to _undress_ Jeremy. Plus, the kid looked damn sexy in a tie and it suited him, casually and formally.

For himself he threw on a pair of black jeans, deep grey v-neck, and his black leather jacket. He splashed some of his cologne onto himself and successfully rubbed it onto Jeremy by crushing him in a very loving, _tight_, embrace.

The two of them got lucky and dodged the love birds having already left while Damon and Jeremy were in the shower together. Otherwise they would have probably had to listen to Elena asking them a million questions about how things were with the two of them.

But their answer would have been simple: They were happy.

And because Jeremy was also starving they decided to hit The Grill.

As Damon went straight to the bar for his liquor Jeremy went to find a table.  
Damon coming back with two drinks in his hands suggested either he was _really _thirsty, looking to get as hammered as he could or that he planned to give alcohol to a minor.

The younger of the two males smiled amorously from his spot at the table, "One of those for me?"

Damon takes his seat across from Jeremy, sets both glasses down, narrows his eyes, and asks Jeremy seriously, "What's in it for me?" He smirked, his blue eyes smiling brighter than he's probably even aware of.

Jeremy arched his brow. Under the table he slips off one of his shoes and slides it upwards against the inner side of one of Damon's legs. It's suddenly then that Jeremy is immensely glad that he chose a table not exactly in the corner being so suspiciously cozy but near a wall where no one is able to see the two of them playing an erotic version of footsy.

Damon's jaw clenched slightly as Jeremy got dangerously close to his growing hard on.  
But then Jeremy's toes hit the hardening hotspot and the brown eyed male smiled smugly as he took a glass of whatever alcohol Damon brought back and drinks it as easily as if it were water.

"Fine, but you should know Jeremy," Damon paused as he grinned his pearly whites. "You should never start something unless you finish it."

After Jeremy downs the rest of his drink (which turned out to be bourbon, of course) he sets down the glass again, peers back up at Damon and tells him, "Oh I plan to."

He then waves over a waitress that must've missed the two of them coming in.  
"But first – I eat."

Although they would both shamelessly cuddle with one another in their privacy they still remained to look like an ordinary couple of friends to anyone around them.

Jeremy ordered something simple from the overly flirtatious waitress. He fought hard to control the grin that wanted to come out as the poor girl did her best to flirt with Damon but all the blue eyed man do was stare at Jeremy and tell her that he was fine.

For just a second Jeremy thought Damon was going to tell her that he was already looking at his next meal as he stared at Jeremy. But all Damon did was be polite to her. Jeremy knew that Damon still had qualms about taking blood from him. Jeremy figured it all stemmed from their first night. It was then that Damon was going to bite Jeremy as intimately for the first time but backed off just as quickly.

It took Jeremy time that night to convince Damon that it was okay but he could tell that Damon often used his restraint when he was with Jeremy. He wasn't sure if it was because Damon didn't want to take the chance of overfeeding from Jeremy or if he thought that Jeremy minded but it was something that he hadn't really asked about since that night.

Last night it felt so good that Jeremy didn't mind if Damon did it more often when they were together like that, just not to an excess of course. He didn't want to think about how masochistic it may have sounded but he didn't mind the way Damon marked him. He knew his neck was basically a "tell all" if people cared enough to look that closely. Although, the only thing people would find are the "human" bite marks and patches of flesh that had been sucked. Damon fed him enough blood so that the punctures from his fangs healed quickly. Jeremy would have rather them to stay too if he had his way.

Every so often Jeremy's big brown eyes would peer up at Damon and he wondered how fascinatingly boring it must be for Damon to do nothing but watch contentedly as Jeremy ate his food.  
"Surely that can't be exciting for you," Jeremy comments between bites.

"What do you mean?" Damon asks confusedly.

"Just watching me eat. Aren't you bored?"

Damon lets out a long sigh and leans forward a little across the table.  
"Jeremy, the only kind of _bored_ I am right now is how I am as stiff as one. Your teasing has left me with a very anxious… _friend._"

And if not for the number of people around them Jeremy was sure he was going to burst out in a fit of laughter. He hadn't realized Damon was still hard from when he'd played with him earlier.

"Well Damon, if you want to –,"

Jeremy stopped what he was saying as he watched as Damon's demeanor changed.

Geez, how bad was it? "Damon, are you okay? If it's that bad I'm sure I can help with that here."  
Jeremy offers, figuring that helping his boyfriend out in the restroom is better than nothing.

But then something about Damon changed again.  
Jeremy could tell that it had less to do with his erection and more to do with something else entirely.

"Seriously Damon, are you all right?"

Damon's eyes began scanning the building effortlessly. His back straightened in comparison. He inhaled deeply, sensing something different in the air. His facial muscles tensed somewhat and from all of this Jeremy could tell that something was different with Damon.

But it's how calm he sounds when he tells Jeremy that nothing is wrong that puts Jeremy somewhat back into ease, if only fractionally and temporarily.  
Jeremy continued eating his burger and French fries while Damon nursed the rest of his drink, sitting stiffer than before and eyes slightly hardened.

_**From Damon's p.o.v**_

"Jeremy, the only kind of _bored_ I am right now is how I am as stiff as one. Your teasing has left me with a very anxious… _friend_."

Damon smirked, already thinking of the ways he'd have Jeremy make it up to him for teasing him the way he did. Leaving Damon with an itch he couldn't scratch in public was not very nice. Especially since Jeremy knew what he was doing every time he put a French fry to his lips, eat it slowly and lick his fingers afterward. The boy was all kinds of naughty and Damon didn't think it was possible for him to get as aroused as he was from merely watching Jeremy eat, even if Jeremy had just rubbed against him.

As he listened to Jeremy speak, that's when it happened.

Something in the restaurant changed. There were people flowing in and out of the place and that was nothing new. He could smell everyone around him and because he had been a vampire for so long that didn't affect him. The problem wasn't the number of people around him; it was _who_ was around him.

He was never one of those people to claim to "sense" someone near. He didn't believe in past lives and he certainly didn't believe in déjà vu. He believed in what he could see, touch, smell, and hear. And the scent he picked up on was of someone he hadn't been able to smell in a long time.

Of course Mystic Falls was the place where the whackos, supernatural, and etc. came to haunt. At first he wasn't surprised as much as he was alert for anyone wanting trouble. He thought it was perhaps another immortal he knew a long time ago. It wouldn't be shocking that whoever it was had picked Mystic Falls to inhabit but there was a problem in Damon's logic. The only person that carried that scent was supposed to have been dead for over a century.

It was then that he started scanning the place around him looking for who he thought it was.  
Obviously Damon couldn't memorize the distinct scent of every person he had ever met before. But he could when he'd spent a significant amount of time with them. After a while a person's scent becomes embedded in a vampire's senses; it's one of the things that make them so predatory. He couldn't do this with many because it was rare for him to choose someone to either not kill or stick close to. So as a result he didn't have that many people to choose from.

Although he had learned around the time he was changed that he could also remember the scents of even the people he had known while he was human and hadn't seen them since he became a vampire. But for this it was the same, he could only remember the scents of the people he had spent a lot of time with.

Because of this, he knew exactly who it was; or at the very least, who it _should_ be.

_Flashback 1864, Civil War_

_Damon stood tall in his uniform. Albeit his very dirty, sweaty, dilapidated uniform, but he wore it well. It had been four months since he left Mystic Falls to serve in the war. In that time he had witnessed and did things he thought no one should have to. What was worse was the fact that he was sure he hadn't seen the worst of it._

_As he predicted, he didn't exactly like the path he had chosen. _(But of course, who would after all of that?) _Though he managed to get through it so far and wasn't going to go down without a fight. It was that exact drive that kept him going and would remain to do so._

_Although he had to admit, despite the tension between the people even on the same side of the war, he'd met people he fought with that he could actually see himself talking to in his everyday life. Even as the war pursued it could have been a lot worse had it been just as chaotic between the very people who were supposed to be fighting together.  
He was glad that he'd managed to make a few comrades among the people he fought alongside._

_He breathed in the scent of the air around him.  
The smell of gun smoke and grime was thick, assaulting his senses yet at the same time keeping him alert. That was one of the things he came to depend on, his ability to stay on guard no matter what state he was in.  
He scanned the fields before him._

_From the point he stood to the distance going past his vision he was able to see it.  
Death was around him. War was everywhere the naked eye could see and the ears could hear._

_It was getting darker.  
As alert as he may have been he still needed to sleep._

_His time soon came and he made his way to where the rest of the men slept.  
Of course, as nocturnal as Damon was, he was the last one to his own bed while everyone else had already slipped into unconsciousness.  
Perhaps there was a legitimate reason he had wanted to stay awake just a little while longer. He might've been crazy given the situation he was in but he figured a little less time of sleep wouldn't have affected him too much. Not when the reason he preferred everyone unaware of what he was up to was as warm as they were; or melded to his own body as comfortably as they did. He felt safe despite the current haze of chaos that surrounded him._

_As the arm of the man close to him reached out and curled over his waist he sighed deeply, content with being the little spoon for the time being. He desperately wanted to go to sleep as he was. But they both knew that they couldn't be found like that.  
It was the reason Damon had stayed awake longer. It was one of the few times he was able to turn in the arms of the man he wanted and kiss the lips he craved. They made an effort to be as silent as they could, despite how their kisses turned so fervent and needy as quickly as they did._

_Soft gasps could be heard from Damon as large hands trailed over his back, traveling south to rest on and grope his ass. He willed himself not to groan at the contact, lower bodies grinding. His bottom lip being sucked between the other man's lips and mouth only made the situation more difficult and the erection between his legs harder._

_In Damon's defense, he had kept up the silence for as long as he could, and he thought he'd done a damn good job at it too. But all bets were off the moment his dick was grasped firmly, stroked with zero mercy. He latched his warm, open mouth to the side of his bed partner's neck just to muffle the inevitable noises he was bound to make._

_The _slightly_ younger man was unaware of the effect that would have on the one who was currently building him for his orgasmic release. The hand around his cock sped up and gripped tighter, delighted by the kisses and suction given to his sensitive pulse point.  
Damon was close, his lower body bucking into the hot palm. He searched out the delicious mouth once again and sucked in the other's tongue as he could feel himself growing tighter – _needing_ to be as close to his muscled body as possible._

_In a matter of moments Damon came, the only signal to any outsiders were the moans coming deep within him and the hiss from the man sealed close to him from the bite Damon had just given him.  
Each had staked their claim on the other numerous times before. They were sure others had noticed the bruises, bite marks, and hickeys left on their more intimate body parts but no one announced it. It seemed that everyone who Damon was fighting with had their own secrets._

_Damon's so happened to be that he had a male lover._

_Begrudgingly Damon got out of his partner's bed to grab a small towel wedged amongst his other things. He closed the distance as he leaned over slightly to clean off the other man after he had wiped himself down. As he straightened to go back to his designated bed his wrist was grabbed softly._

_He looked down into warm green eyes who begged silently for him to stay. Damon wanted to tell him that if he could he would, but instead he bent down to kiss the other's full lips affectionately._

"_Good night," he whispered._

_Had Damon been asked before if he thought letting go of someone's hand would be painful he'd laugh at the absurdity. But as his fingers slipped away from the hand they'd been entwined with his body felt as if it had dropped 10 degrees; that warmth vanished quickly, replaced with a bitter sensation._

_Damon went back to his own bed, on the other side from the one he wanted to crawl back into._

_Yes, he had definitely befriended a number of people he had to spend most of his time with. And among those he had found one in particular that he'd gotten even closer with._

_Flashback over_

Damon's eyes came back to focus when a French fry pelted at his chest drew him back to reality.  
"Damon? Are you okay?" Jeremy asked, his eyes revealing how worried he was by the vacant man in front of him, not even responding to when Jeremy slid his bare foot up Damon's thigh.

It was then that Damon had noticed that he was unable to pick up that familiar scent again. Even as he tried as best he could, the scent had been lost.

His blue eyes scanned the entrance/exit for anyone leaving as well as the window showing people outside. He looked for the body he had spent several nights being so close with.  
Damon couldn't understand it; he didn't _want_ to understand. He just wanted to know for sure if it had been who he had thought it was. And if so, _then_ he wanted answers.

"Damon?" Jeremy asked again, voice getting louder.

"Yes?" The vampire answered coolly. He didn't want to worry Jeremy.

"Do you want to leave?" Jeremy relaxed only slightly when he was given attention again.

Damon looked down at Jeremy's bare plate and into his still concerned dark-colored eyes. He could hear how Jeremy's heart rate picked up. The last thing he was going to do was scare him, or give him any reason to worry.  
So Damon smiled genuinely, nodded his head, and got up to pay.

After him and Jeremy got into his car Damon leaned over and kissed his boyfriend ardently.  
He'd be damned if he gave Jeremy any reason to be anything other than happy. So he made up his mind to get his shit together and deal with whatever it was he had to. He just hoped he was wrong.

As they broke apart Damon cranked the car, looked to his right, smiled and asked, "Where to?"

**15**

_I'm all kinds of excited, folks. I would _love_ to hear what you __**all**__ think. Anybody think it's a bad idea? I don't know a thing about the war back then (I mean literally, not the faintest idea), so I'm not sure if they even had time to form relationships with each other but in this story… they did. Please, please let me know if you think the story is going in a bad direction. And I will be having more flashbacks to explain things better._


	16. Sixteen

_Warnings: Smut, historical inaccuracies, other character, manly crying, and not much dialogue._

_A/n: The first 3 paragraphs may not match up with the rest of it but I just needed to include what Jeremy was thinking, but I also wanted to tell you guys what happened after they left the Grill._

**16**

Jeremy's fingers idly ran over Damon's dog tags. They were silver, old. His boyfriend's name printed in the metal. They reminded Jeremy sometimes of how old Damon was. Damon so old that he partook in a war during the mid 1800s, still having the very tags they would have used to identify his body if needed. It made Jeremy all that more grateful that Damon hadn't needed them during his time serving. At the risk of sounding as girly as his sister, he couldn't think of what it would have been like to have never met Damon Salvatore. He'd be lying if he said that things had always been rosy and wonderful with the vampire. Hell, the night everything between him and Damon started was probably one of the scariest nights of his life. By no means had Damon always been his favorite person, but at any rate, he was now. And for that reason, Jeremy didn't like to think about all of the times Damon could have very well died before gaining his vampiric immortality.

However, Jeremy still wondered about it sometimes. It was something he had never asked Damon before. When he thought about it, he didn't know that much about the man. He knew he loved him, and that Damon returned it. He knew that Damon was no saint and he also knew that Damon had some good in himself. But truth be told, he didn't have any idea what Damon was like before he was turned. Sometimes Jeremy was afraid to ask, he didn't want to dredge up any of Damon's old feelings that he may have had. Feelings not particularly of Katherine but just of his old feelings in general, because Jeremy still remembered from that first night what Damon had said in the peace of the darkness, that he missed his humanity. He didn't want to see any trace of sadness in Damon's beautiful blue eyes, but still – Jeremy often was curious to know about Damon's previous life.

So because of his recent curiosity, Jeremy had planned on asking Damon about his life as a human; perhaps more specifically his time during the war. He figured it'd be an easy place to start, then maybe ease his way into the life Damon had after he became a vampire; his life that recently Jeremy had become such a significant part of.

They had been to the Grill earlier that day. It was when Damon had acted funnier than usual. Jeremy had asked him about it but after Damon smiled at him Jeremy was temporarily put at ease. He figured if Damon had something to tell him, he'd do it in his own time.

Afterwards the two of them headed back to Damon's, relieved to find that the house was empty. Once there Jeremy had made good of the promise he'd given to Damon, the one he'd made silently when he massaged Damon's thigh with his wandering foot underneath the table. He hadn't realized just exactly what it was that he stirred inside of Damon because once he was able to, the vampire nearly attacked Jeremy full force. The younger male found his legs wrapped around Damon's waist as the vampire carried him to his bedroom, his mouth being ravished in the meantime. At one point Jeremy was pressed up against a wall with Damon crowding him, thrusting his tongue inside the younger one's mouth. Lips soft and eager had collided in a frenzy of heat and fervor, mouths already at the open waiting for tongues to slide across each other eliciting moans from both men.

The noise of their kisses and moans filled the house as the two made their way. When finally Damon brought them both to his bedroom he laid Jeremy down gently, his body still clinging to the stronger man's torso. At the Grill Jeremy had hoped for being the dominant one this time (Damon was sweet of him to let Jeremy play the dominant one from time to time, only because he liked being man-handled by Jeremy…shh!) But not now, no – Damon held Jeremy's body so close to him; he dominated the living man out of pure animalistic lust. Thankfully Damon had lent Jeremy his own jeans because the pants Jeremy had been wearing were now torn past visible recognition. Jeremy wondered how in the hell that even happened without Damon mauling his legs in the process. It was as if there were two sides to Damon, the side that was gentle with Jeremy, treating him almost like glass and then this one, the one so desperate to be inside of Jeremy but still held back from hurting him – that, he would never do.

Jeremy kissed Damon's perfect, ivory face. He ran his tongue down Damon's skin, trailing to his jaw where he sucked from there to his neck. It was the only time Damon had slowed down his anxious movements to rid him and Jeremy of their clothes. Damon hovered above Jeremy as he let his human slowly take the control he was desperate for. Jeremy's hands came up and finished removing Damon's shirt that was half way off his body. He made sure to run his warm fingers over Damon's chest, teasing his nipples and gliding his hands down Damon's abs. Jeremy leaned up and sucked on Damon's left nipple, teased it with his tongue the way he knew made Damon's toes curl.

"Jeremy," Damon moaned roughly, his voice thick with lust and arousal.  
The way Damon pleaded made Jeremy hum.

Jeremy pushed Damon back so that his legs were resting on either side of Jeremy's body, giving him enough room to remove the shirt he had lent him. Damon took his time taking off the tie, at the moment all he wanted was for the two of them to be naked rutting against each other but there was something about that fucking tie. He really did love it when Jeremy wore them, and the fact that it was his own nearly made him come the minute he put it on his boyfriend's pale, perfect neck; perhaps it was Damon's own way of branding the younger male. No matter the reason, Damon figured he could read into his possessiveness another time, all that matter now was that he have Jeremy in every physical way he could imagine.

Now, with the two of them both naked and already panting, Jeremy leaned up and kissed Damon's lips. His kisses were light, he trailed them downward to Damon's chin and lower to his neck; feeling the vibration on his lips from the movement of Damon's skin from how he growled at the contact of Jeremy's lips on his throat.

Their cocks rubbing relentlessly against each other, Damon helped the friction right along as he grinded down even harder. Jeremy hissed from the feeling, his gut tightening and his dick filling more and more with blood. He thought he was going to burst when he saw Damon suck in two of his own fingers between his perfect lips and into his mouth. Jeremy envisioned those rosy lips around his swollen, aching member, but reasoned that that could wait; all he wanted right now was for Damon to be inside of him, to claim him the way he knew Damon loved to do.

The room was filled with pleased yet hungry moans as Jeremy was penetrated by the first finger, then the second. The noises he was making were purely pornographic, as if Damon wasn't already excruciatingly hard.

Both men shifted, Damon slipped securely between Jeremy's legs as the younger male wrapped them tightly around Damon's torso. The raven haired hell on wheels swooped down for another kiss as he made his way inside Jeremy's taut, scorching entrance.

Had Damon been human, had he not have had nearly a century of practice, he was sure he would have lost all control right then and there as Jeremy clutched his naked shoulder blades and moaned so dirtily that the Pope himself would have probably questioned his sexuality. Jeremy could do wonders with his mouth and making the filthiest of noises was one of his most special talents. As Jeremy's heels dug into Damon's ass Damon thrust into the warm body harder and deeper. Normally Damon liked to take his time with Jeremy. Feel his body out. Make him squirm before he plunged all the way in with torturous pace he knew Jeremy loved. But not now. Something inside of Damon wanted to come out and play, wanted to be inside of Jeremy so much, make the young human never forget what it was like to have Damon atop of him.

And from the claws digging in his back and the song of whimpers and moans Jeremy was letting out, Damon knew Jeremy loved it.

Damon took Jeremy's hands into his own and twined their fingers together as he pinned them down on the bed. His hips slowing down as he took the time to take Jeremy apart piece by piece. Their lips found each other in the darkened room. Tongues glided softly against one another. It was as if the mood took a 180 in an instant. Damon went from erratically having his way with Jeremy, pleasing the human with raw vigor, to sensually worshipping his body. Damon's hands were everywhere all at once after he let go of Jeremy's hands. They were stroking Jeremy's hair, then teasing his nipples, and finally journeyed their way to Jeremy's pulsing cock. He tugged and petted it as he kissed Jeremy's opened mouth. It was bitter sweet because as much as he loved his boyfriend's lips and his sinful tongue, quieting Jeremy and ceasing his pants and moans was almost painful.

Languidly Jeremy ran his hands up and down Damon's warm back, going further south to grasp his firm end. He whimpered softly as the kisses stopped but smiled against Damon's neck as he heard his boyfriend whisper 'I love you' in the dark.

With that combined with the deep thrusts and Damon's grip around his penis, Jeremy came over their bellies. As Damon felt it he sped up his movements, taking all Jeremy was worth and giving it back to him through kisses and moans, he could feel his orgasm taking over his body. In the heat of the moment Damon's fangs elongated and sank effortlessly in Jeremy's pliable neck.

As blood was drawn from his throat Jeremy let out another string of moans, whimpers, and Damon's name in hushed whispers.

As if it were a feast Damon lapped at Jeremy's neck until all the excess blood was gone and hickeys were quickly forming. Damon thought about giving Jeremy his blood. He loved it when he saw Jeremy's lips suckle his skin, drinking his blood like candy. But he thought against it. As he stared at the fang marks and the rest of the marks on Jeremy's neck and chest Damon decided he wanted to leave them there. Of course his bite mark was placed too low for the world to see but what was left on Jeremy's neck wasn't. And Damon wanted people to see the younger man's neck all marked up, all claimed and proud.

The vampire withdrew himself from Jeremy's sated body and gave him another kiss on the lips.

"Well? Was it as good as I promised?" Jeremy slurred as he kissed back lazily.

All Damon did was laugh softly and take hold of his hand.

After that the two of them eventually found themselves lying practically on top of each other as they slept. It was in that position that Jeremy woke up hours later. He found that Damon's body had migrated lower against Jeremy's body; his head resting on the younger's stomach.

Since Jeremy didn't want to wake Damon up he settled on gently carding his fingers through Damon's raven hair. After a while Jeremy began looking around the room. It was simple and elegant with a wisp of mystery. Next to the bed was a dresser made of dark oak and a sleek finish. Out of curiosity and a little boredom Jeremy reached for the top drawer, opened it, and was a little surprised to find Damon's dog tags buried haphazardly among his clothes.

And that was how Jeremy ended up in how he was now. With one of his hands caressing Damon and the other running over the silver plated 'Salvatore'. It was what made him think of the life Damon had before he met Jeremy.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the noises Damon was making as he woke up on top of Jeremy.

"Hey baby," Jeremy said as he smiled down at him. He was sure that he'd be been punished with no sex for a week if he ever told anyone but when Damon first wakes up he looks so adorable. His blue eyes are cloudy and hooded from sleep, his hair is mussed and tousled in the sexiest way, and the way his body stretches… well, that's not adorable as much as it is sexy.

"Hi", he said sleepily. He kissed Jeremy's smooth stomach and nibbled his abs gently.  
It took him a moment to fully wake up before he noticed what was in his lover's hands.

And just like that, it was like a bucket of ice water was thrown onto his naked body.

All of his memories came rushing back.

_Flashback, 1867_

_He could hear gunshots. They were all around him yet at that point the noises began to almost become mute. He couldn't breathe. Fear choking him, his body unable to process whether it wanted to take flight or fight. He was taught never to leave a man behind. Never abandon your own. He couldn't do that. Even though his fellow men needed him to fight with them, needed him to cover for them, he found himself fleeing. He swore he'd never leave, he'd never run away. But this time it felt like he had no choice. He was missing someone. How, he wasn't sure. Damon thought he was with him the entire time but when he looked behind him his heart sank. He was nowhere to be found. So in the midst of gun shots and weaponry flying all around them, Damon ran back to where they came from. He wasn't in his right mind anymore. He had to find him; get to him before it was too late._

_And that's what he did._

_Damon was smart though. He avoided the most dangerous zones if possible. He was thorough in his search yet quick at the same time. He had to keep moving. He had to cover as much ground as he could. A steady target was an easy target and the more time he spent the more likely he could be too late. But he didn't want to be careless. Didn't want to overlook anything in case he didn't see him._

_Through the clouds of dust and gunfire Damon kept his eyes peeled for sandy blond hair, for eyes greener than the earth, for the body he was so familiar with. Even in uniform Damon would still know him from anyone else. It's what happened when you spent so much time with someone. He wanted to find him so desperately that Damon swore he developed a sixth sense in that brief period._

_Something told him he was close. He could feel it. And after further voyage he could hear it. He could hear the man's voice over all of the chaos. Pained moans and his strained voice were so close to Damon that he knew he was almost there._

_In the ground there were holes dug so that soldiers could fit into them, could hide if necessary. Because of all that was going on and how deep the holes were you'd completely look over a body lying there if you weren't looking for it. Luckily Damon was. He scoured the dug up earth, looked and listened for him._

_When Damon saw a helmet lay a few meters away from a hole he became frantic. Looked for lightly colored hair and finally, __**finally**__ he found what he was looking for. May it be a gift from God or sheer determination Damon wasn't sure, but he had found him._

_Without even thinking about further Damon dove in. He checked the body, made sure to whom it was. When watery green eyes looked up at him Damon could finally breathe again. He took his dirt covered hand cradled the man's face._

"_What happened?" He asked._

_The only response he got was more moans of pain. He could see the man lose consciousness. So Damon did the only thing he knew to do. He picked up the limp body, swung it over himself to carry it more efficiently and took off to where he found an abandoned, secluded shack on his way to finding the man now in his arms. Damon had checked beforehand if the man was in it and found that it was completely empty, it was a wonder Damon even found it himself._

_Even though his muscles burned and feet ached Damon didn't care. He pushed through the pain and strode the distance until he got to the safest place he could think of. When he did he put the man down as gently as possible. Damon did his best to secure the place, no matter how futile he knew his efforts would be if someone really wanted entrance. When he got back to the still breathing body he was relieved to find open eyes still looking at him._

_As bittersweet as it was, Damon allowed himself to smile._

"_I thought I'd lost you," he whispered to the man as he began checking his body for injuries._

_Surprisingly all Damon found was smeared blood, scrapes and deep scratches, bruises already appearing, and swollen limbs. That isn't to say these injuries didn't matter, it was just that Damon had expected the worst. He thanked whatever deity was out there that his suspicions weren't true._

_Damon fished for the container of water he had clipped to his bottoms and started giving the man whatever drop of water he had. After the man nearly choked on it from the new sensation he finally tried to speak._

"_Yu 'lrigh?" He slurred, his green eyes scanning Damon's body to make sure he was okay._

_Damon laughed humorlessly. "I'm fine. It was you I was worried about."  
"How did I lose you?" Damon let the shame overcome him. He couldn't even protect the man before him, couldn't manage not to lose him. What does that say about him?_

_The man who was lying on the ground, head supported by Damon's lap reached for Damon's hands. He needed to touch Damon, know that he was there. As quickly as desired Damon let his hands be held; he tangled his fingers with that of the other man's._

"_It's not your fault." The man said roughly, as if he knew what Damon was thinking._

_Damon could feel his cheeks begin to dampen. "But I lost you," he said brokenly._

_The man in his arms smiled the best he could while his body was still so sore.  
"You found me," he said proudly. He didn't think he'd ever be found. He thought he was going to die in that hole. He had hoped Damon would find him but all he prayed for was that Damon was okay. After he had accepted his fate that's all he hoped for, was that Damon would survive._

_He didn't know if he should or not but Damon couldn't stop himself. He leaned down all the way to the man's lips and kissed him softly. He could feel the tears on the other man's face along with his own. When Damon felt the other man apply gentle pressure to his lips Damon's body sagged. He clutched the weak body for dear life, vowing to never lose sight of him again._

_Flashback, over _

"Where'd you get that?" He questioned, his voice going darker as his eyes zeroed in on the metal Jeremy was holding onto.

"From your dresser. I've never seen these before."

**16**

_(Preview)_

**17**

Damon blinked at Jeremy. He didn't need any other evidence. He was sure of it now. He knew, 100% certain that what he smelt in The Grill was what he had thought it was. Was _who_ he had thought it was. He needed those memories to be sure; for his sense memory to be reminded that there was no way he could ever forget that scent, no matter the fact that he was only human when he was last exposed to it. And despite the part of him that refused to believe it, he knew that logically he wasn't wrong.

He was in that restaurant with them.

He was there right where Damon was just hours ago.

Gabriel was alive. And he was in Mystic Falls.

**17**

_I promise this is still Jeremy/Damon, and I'm also SO sorry that it looked like I abandoned ship. I promise to try and keep writing this as frequently as I can. I would love it if you guys (if I still have any reviewers left) would tell me how you like the flashbacks. Should I stop doing them and get straight to the present?_


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